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The  A»ak,.ul„K  of  Chin.,  hy  Dr.  VV.  A.  I’.  M.rth.,  Douhl.a.y,  f..-  A Co. 

Tomb  of  Confucius,  ChOfu 


CHINA 

AN  INTERPRETATION 


BY 

JAMES  W/BASHFORD 

Blfbop  of  che  Metbodi«(  Epiicopal  Cburcb 
Re»ideot  in  Cbioa 


And  they  read  in  the  book,  in  the 
law  of  God,  with  an  interpretation; 
and  they  gave  the  sense,  so  that  they 
understood  the  reading. — Neh.  8.  8. 


THE  ABINGDON  PRESS 


NEW  YORK 


CINCINNATI 


CopjTight,  1916,  by 
JAMES  W.  BASHFORD 


First  Edition  Printed  May,  1916  ' 
Reprinted  August  and  December,  1916 


The  Bible  text  used  in  this  volume  is  taken  from  the  American  Standard  Edition  of 
the  Revised  Bible,  copyright,  1901,  by  Thomas  Nelson  & Sons,  and  is  used  by  permission 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  TACK 

Preface 9 

Preface  to  the  Second  Edition 15 

I.  China  and  the  World 17 

II.  Industrial  Life  in  China 43 

III.  Commercial  Life  IN  China 73 

IV.  Educational  Life  in  China 97 

V.  Woman's  Life  in  China 123 

VI.  Life  Reflected  in  Literature 146 

VII.  Life  Reflected  in  Philosophy:  Taoism  and 

Its  Schools 173 

VIII.  Confucius:  Moral  Philosophy 195 

IX.  The  Confucian  School 220 

X.  Religious  Life  and  Struggles 239 

XI.  Chinese  Law 266 

XII.  Political  Life  in  China 290 

XIII.  The  Downfall  OF  THE  Manchus 312 

XIV.  The  Transition  : Prince  Chun’s  Regency.  . 331 

XV.  The  Chinese  Republic 350 

XVI.  China  and  Japan 379 

XVII.  China  and  the  United  States 418 

XVIII.  China  AND  THE  World:  Conclusion 446 

XIX.  Yuan  Shih  Kai 492 

Appendices 503 

Index 617 


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4 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 
Tomb  of  Confucius,  Chufu Frontispiece 

FACING  PAGE 

208 
316 


The  Empress  Dowager,  Her  Majesty  Tzu  Hsi 

Emperor  of  China,  Kwang-su 

Yuan  Shih  Kai 


450 


PREFACE 


Every  thoughtful  man  holds  fundamental  views  of 
human  nature  which  constitute  the  preconceptions 
with  which  he  comes  to  his  tasks.  In  a country  so 
large  as  China,  with  so  immense  a population,  what- 
ever one’s  preconceptions,  he  can  easily  find  materials 
to  confirm  them.  Every  view  advanced  can  be  sup- 
ported by  numerous  illustrations,  or  it  can  be  chal- 
lenged, and  so  many  exceptions  can  be  cited  as  to 
make  the  opposite  opinion  credible.  Recognizing  this 
danger,  we  have  meditated  for  years  upon  both  sides 
of  every  problem  which  has  confronted  us.  We  have 
aimed  in  dealing  with  so  large  a portion  of  the  human 
race  not  simply  to  state  facts  but  also  to  analyze  and 
sift  facts,  and  to  derive  from  them  the  truth.  We  have 
been  governed  by  the  purpose  not  to  discover  in  the 
Chinese  what  we  wish  were  true,  but,  rather,  to  recog- 
nize those  dominant  characteristics,  those  fundamental 
traits  of  Chinese  character,  with  which  the  rest  of  the 
world  must  reckon.  All  writers  should  aim  to  portray, 
not  the  countless  eddies  and  cross  currents  which  are 
so  likely  to  confuse  hasty  observers,  but  the  deep  main 
current  which  reveals  the  trend  of  a race  and  fore- 
casts its  goal.  To  do  this  we  must  know  something 
more  than  its  external  history.  We  must,  if  possible, 
penetrate  beneath  mere  facts  and  try  to  discover  on 
the  one  side  that  which  differentiates  the  people  under 

consideration  from  the  rest  of  the  human  race,  and  on 

7 


8 


PREFACE 


the  other  side  those  more  fundamental  traits  which 
make  of  one  all  men  who  dwell  upon  the  earth. 

Lord  Bryce,  in  his  recent  volume  on  South  America, 
says:  “The  duty  of  a traveler  or  an  historian  or  a 

philosopher  is,  of  course,  to  reach  and  convey  the 
exact  truth,  and  any  tendency  either  to  lighten  or  to 
darken  the  picture  is  equally  to  be  condemned.  But 
where  there  is  reason  for  doubt,  and  whenever  that 
which  may  be  called  the  ‘temperamental  equation’  of 
the  observer  comes  in,  an  optimistic  attitude  would 
seem  to  be  the  safer ; that  is  to  say,  likely  to  be  nearer 
the  truth.  . . . Moreover,  we  are  disposed,  when  we 
deal  with  another  country,  to  be  unduly  impressed  by 
the  defects  which  we  actually  see  and  to  forget  to  ask 
what  is,  after  all,  the  really  important  question — 
whether  things  are  getting  better  or  worse.  Is  it  an 
ebbing  or  a flowing  tide  that  we  see  ? Even  in  reflect- 
ing upon  the  past  in  our  own  country,  which  we  know 
better  than  we  do  that  of  other  countries,  we  are  apt, 
in  noting  the  emergence  of  new  dangers,  to  forget  how 
many  old  dangers  have  disappeared.  Much  more  is 
this  kind  of  error  likely  to  affect  us  in  the  case  of  a 
country  whose  faults  repel  us  more  than  do  our  own 
national  faults,  and  whose  recuperative  forces  we  may 
overlook  or  undervalue.”’  In  this  matter  we  confess 
that  we  are  optimistic  by  conviction,  because  no  per- 
son permeated  by  the  Christian  spirit  can  be  other  than 
optimistic.  Moreover,  in  our  opening  chapters  we  are 
simply  setting  forth  and  attempting  to  account  for 
facts — facts  which  are  undisputed  and  indisputable, 
whatever  may  be  their  ex])lanation,  namely,  an  im- 

> Bryce,  James:  South  America.  Introduction,  pp.  xxii,  xxiii. 


PREFACE 


9 


inense  population  occupying  that  region  of  the  earth 
called  China,  a civilization  which  the  Chinese  have 
maintained  for  three  to  four  thousand  years,  and  a 
struggle  now  in  progress  by  this  race  to  enter  upon  a 
new  stage  of  civilization.  Even  should  our  explana- 
tion of  the  facts  prove  in  part  mistaken,  nevertheless 
the  facts  are  indestructible  and  self-assertive.  Let 
any  candid  student  attempt  to  find  a rational  explana- 
tion of  the  early  development  of  Chinese  civilization, 
of  its  long  continuance,  of  the  immense  population 
which  that  country  sustains,  of  the  virile  qualities  of 
the  people,  and  of  their  recent  awakening,  and  these 
indisputable  facts  in  the  history  of  the  Chinese  must 
create  large  expectations  as  to  the  future. 

To  quicken  the  interest  in  this  vast  nation,  to  help 
make  China  and  the  Chinese  better  known  and  better 
understood,  this  book  has  been  written ; it  is  a growth 
rather  than  a composition ; it  has  largely  made  itself. 
It  is  the  result  of  twelve  years’  residence  and  some 
seventy  thousand  miles  of  travel  in  China,  and  ten 
thousand  more  in  Japan  and  Korea,  of  hundreds  of 
conversations  with  the  Chinese  upon  all  possible  sub- 
jects, but  chiefly  about  things  Chinese,  of  unnumbered 
talks  with  foreigners  of  long  residence  in  China  con- 
cerning the  Chinese,  of  the  reading  or  examination  of 
more  than  five  hundred  volumes  on  China,  of  more 
than  forty  notebooks  written  during  the  last  twelve 
years  mainly  upon  China,  and  of  considerable  medita- 
tion upon  the  problems  of  the  Pacific  Basin.  The  aim 
has  been  to  make  these  problems  understandable  by 
Western  peoples.  In  spirit  we  have  tried  to  follow  the 
Golden  Rule  and  to  interpret  the  Chinese  to  the  West- 


10 


PREFACE 


ern  world  as  we  would  like  Chinese  writers  to  interpret 
Americans  and  Europeans  to  the  Orient.  Such  a 
spirit  will  contribute  to  the  peace,  to  the  commercial 
progress,  and  to  the  civilization  of  the  human  race. 

We  are  not  unmindful  of  the  ignorance,  squalor,  and 
misery  of  vast  masses  of  the  Chinese.  We  have 
pointed  out  the  faults  of  the  race  and  the  dangers 
which  threaten  their  civilization,  but  we  have  not 
dwelt  upon  the  defects  of  Chinese  life ; hence  our  inter- 
pretation may  give  hasty  readers  too  favorable  an 
impression  of  the  progress  and  the  present  condition 
of  China.  Our  conviction  is  clear  that  it  is  not  wise 
for  foreigners  to  enlarge  upon  the  faults  of  neighbor- 
ing nations.  Instead  of  maintaining  a critical  attitude, 
we  have  aimed,  while  recognizing  the  defects  of  a 
pagan  civilization,  to  be  constructive  and  to  set  forth 
the  remedies.  The  chapters  frequently  lead  up  to 
Christ  simply  because  he  furnishes  the  solution,  and 
the  only  solution,  of  the  grave  problems  which  con- 
front the  Chinese. 

We  have  attempted  to  comply  with  Spencer’s  defini- 
tion of  style,  and  to  give  the  reader  without  unneces- 
sary effort  on  his  part  a comprehensive  view  of  the 
country  and  of  its  institutions,  and  as  clear  an  insight 
as  possible  into  the  character  of  the  people.  In  spell- 
ing names  of  persons  we  have  followed  the  latest  edi- 
tions of  the  Encyclopedia  Britannica,  of  Webster’s 
Dictionary,  and  of  the  .Standard  Dictionary,  because 
these  volumes  are  the  most  accessible  of  any  contain- 
ing Chinese  names.  In  spelling  the  names  of  places 
we  have  followed  the  official  Postal  Guide  of  China. 

No  one  familiar  with  the  influence  of  evolution  in 


PREFACE 


II 


the  development  of  species  can  fail  to  realize  the  pro- 
found effect  which  environment  has  had  upon  the 
history  of  mankind.  Were  we  to  accept  a radical  con- 
ception of  evolution,  we  might  be  led  to  the  conviction 
that  there  have  been  independent  origins  of  the  human 
species.  Even  were  such  an  hypothesis  called  for  to 
account  for  the  pigmies  of  central  Africa  or  the 
aborigines  of  Australia,  it  is  not  needed  as  an  explana- 
tion of  the  origin  of  the  Chinese.  Any  profound  study 
of  this  people  reveals,  with  some  marked  variations, 
the  same  fundamental  type  of  civilization,  the  same 
physical  need  for  food,  clothing,  and  shelter ; the  same 
strong  craving  for  fellowship  manifested  in  the  desire 
for  home  and  social  life;  the  same  uneasy  sense  of  sin 
and  the  same  need  of  spiritual  peace;  the  same  imperi- 
ous demands  of  conscience;  the  same  lasting  longing 
for  immortality ; the  same  deep  desire  for  a knowledge 
of  and  reconciliation  with  the  Creator  of  the  universe 
and  the  Preserver  of  souls  which  exists  in  the  hearts 
of  the  white  races.  These  two  principles,  therefore — 
the  marked  variations  in  races  and  in  civilizations  on 
the  one  side,  and  the  fundamental  unity  of  humanity 
on  the  other  side — should  guide  us  in  an  interpretation 
of  the  Chinese.  To  this  end  we  adopt  Paul’s  resolu- 
tion “to  know  no  man  after  the  flesh,  but  all  men  after 
the  spirit.” 

We  have  spoken  our  convictions  in  regard  to  nations 
and  possible  events  because  in  these  days  of  inevitable 
struggle  between  races,  civilizations,  and  religions  one 
owes  it  to  his  fellows  to  express  freely  the  judgments 
which  travel  and  study  have  produced.  If  these  judg- 
ments rest  upon  the  laws  of  human  development,  the 


12 


PREFACE 


future  will  witness  the  slow  and  gradual  establishment 
of  the  tendencies  which  they  forecast.  If  not,  history 
will  modify  the  forecast.  If  the  former  happens — 
well.  If  the  latter  happens — still  well,  though  not  so 
well.  Nevertheless,  should  the  warnings  uttered  lead 
any  nation  in  any  degree  whatsoever  to  change  its 
course  and  so  avoid  danger,  then  the  failure  of  the 
forecast  will  be  the  highest  justification  for  its  utter- 
ance. 

We  recognize  the  very  serious  limitations  which  an 
Occidental  experiences  in  interpreting  the  Orient  when 
he  comes  to  China  in  middle  life  and  has  not  a knowl- 
edge of  the  language;  an  Occidental  overwhelmed 
with  administrative  problems ; and,  above  all,  an 
Occidental  all  of  whose  earlier  thinking  was  cast  in 
Western  molds.  We  have  been  heartened,  however,  by 
the  fact  that,  not  men  born  in  America  but  such  for- 
eigners as  De  Tocqueville,  Von  Holst,  and  Lord  Bryce, 
looking  at  America  in  some  measure  from  the  outside, 
have  furnished  the  people  of  the  United  States  the  best 
interpretation  of  themselves;  and  that  Occidentals, 
Lafcadio  Hearn,  William  Elliot  Griffis,  and  Sidney 
L.  Gulick,  have  given  us  the  best  insight  into  the  heart 
of  that  wonderful  people,  the  Japanese;  and  that  Presi- 
dent Lowell,  of  Harvard,  has  furnished  probably  the 
best  interpretation  of  the  English  people.  We  have 
neither  the  genius  nor  the  talent  to  repeat  these  tri- 
umphs. But  if  we  can  so  interpret  China  that  Ameri- 
can and  European  readers  will  understand  better  the 
men  and  forces  with  which  they  must  deal  in  the  Far 
East,  and  will  appreciate  more  fully — not  the  mere  in- 
dustrial and  commercial  qualities  of  this  large  section 


PREFACE 


13 


of  the  human  race,  but  the  aspirations,  the  spiritual 
aptitudes,  and  the  struggles  of  our  Chinese  brothers 
and  sisters,  we  shall  be  fully  satisfied.  If  we  can  in 
ever  so  slight  a measure  so  interpret  the  Chinese  as  to 
enable  them  better  to  understand  themselves  and  to 
help  them  in  advancing  toward  their  providential  goal, 
we  shall  feel  amply  rewarded. 

Peking,  China,  March  31,  1916. 


PREFACE  TO  THE  SECOND  EDITION 


It  is  a source  of  gratification  that  a second  edition 
of  this  volume  is  called  for.  Engrossed  as  Americans 
are  with  very  grave  problems  in  connection  with  Mex- 
ico and  Europe,  a slower  sale  of  the  first  edition  would 
not  have  been  surprising.  I am  still  more  gratified  at 
the  favorable  review  of  the  volume  by  leading  news- 
papers and  of  the  receipt  of  letters  of  high  appreciation 
of  it  from  Americans  w'ho  are  authorities  upon  China. 

Owing  to  the  recent  death  of  Yuan  Shih  Kai,  the 
publishers  have  requested  a chapter  dealing  with  his 
career.  I am  not  in  reach  of  the  materials  which  I 
have  been  gathering  for  years  upon  this  statesman, 
but  have  furnished  the  estimates  which  I formed  upon 
his  character  and  his  career. 

I am  under  deep  obligation  to  my  friend  and  fellow 
worker,  the  Rev.  F.  D.  Gamewell,  for  seeing  the  first 
edition  through  the  press  and  for  such  additional  cor- 
rections as  the  speed  of  the  publishers  in  issuing  the 
second  edition  permits.  He  has  labored  indefatigably 
to  eliminate  errors,  often  searching  for  hours  to  verify 
or  correct  a single  statement.  I have  not  had  time  to 
hear  from  China  since  the  publication  of  the  volume 
and  am  ignorant  of  the  judgment  formed  in  that  land 
upon  it.  If  the  judgment  of  the  Chinese  is  as  favor- 
able as  the  judgment  of  Americans,  and  of  the  Chinese 
in  America,  and  especially  if  the  volume  helps  the 

15 


i6 


PREFACE 


Chinese  to  interpret  themselves  more,  fully  and  so 
advance  more  swiftly  toward  their  goal,  the  years  of 
toil  upon  the  volume  will  be  amply  compensated. 

New  York,  July  4,  1916. 


CHAPTER  I 

CHINA  AND  THE  WORLD 

The  most  ominous  event  in  modern  history  is  the 
World  War  which  burst  upon  the  race  in  1914  and 
which  is  still  spreading  at  the  time  these  lines  are 
written.  No  one  even  attempts  at  the  present  moment 
to  forecast  the  outcome  of  this  world  conflagration. 
We  may  pray  and  trust  that  it  will  purify  the  human 
race,  help  the  ideal  of  humanitarianism  to  transcend 
the  ideal  of  nationalism,  and  lead  to  the  United  States 
of  Europe,  or  even  to  a united  Western  world  as  the 
next  step  in  the  progress  of  mankind.  But  even  then 
the  white  races  would  more  closely  than  ever  front 
the  yellow  races,  and  we  should  still  have  the  problem 
of  the  Far  East  to  solve.  Wide  as  are  the  divisions  of 
the  Western  races,  wider  still  is  the  division  between 
the  Western  world  and  the  Eastern  world.  Rudyard 
Kipling  sings : 

O the  East  is  East,  and  the  West  is  West,  and  never  the  twain 
shall  meet 

Till  earth  and  sky  stand  presently  at  God’s  great  Judgment 
Seat. 

With  this  greater  and  later  conflict  in  mind  the  late 
John  Hay  expressed  the  conviction  that  the  storm 
center  of  the  world  would  gradually  pass  from  the 
Balkans,  from  Constantinople,  from  the  Persian  Gulf, 
from  India,  to  China,  and  added:  “Whoever  under- 

stands that  mighty  empire — socially,  politically,  eco- 

17 


i8  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

nomically,  religiously — has  the  key  to  world  politics 
for  the  next  five  centuries.” 

While  the  Western  World  War  now  justly  absorbs 
our  thought,  we  must  not  forget  that  events  are 
moving  in  the  Far  East  with  almost  tragic  swiftness. 
The  race  storm  is  facing  eastward  as  well  as  westward, 
and  its  effects  will  be  felt  in  Asia  long  after  the  storm 
has  died  away  in  Europe.  It  was  with  this  possible 
epic  or  possible  tragedy  in  view  that  Dr.  Reinsch, 
United  States  minister  to  China,  speaking  as  a student 
of  world  history,  wrote  in  1911:  “There  have  been 

great  crises  in  past  history,  but  none  comparable  to 
the  drama  which  is  now  being  enacted  in  the  Far  East, 
upon  the  outcome  of  which  depends  the  welfare  not 
only  of  a country  or  a section  of  the  race  but  of  all 
mankind.”  ^ Lovat  Frazer  says,  “The  event  most 
fraught  with  meaning  for  the  rest  of  the  world  is  the 
awakening  of  the  East.”  B.  Putnam  Weale  writes: 
“The  Chinese  question  is  the  world  question  of  the 
twentieth  century.” 

In  entering  upon  the  study  of  any  nation  it  is  wise 
to  begin  with  the  physical  elements  which  make 
possible  that  nation’s  population  and  civilization. 
There  are  six  physical  causes  of  the  population  of 
China : The  comparative  size  of  the  nation,  the  quality 
of  the  land,  the  location  with  reference  to  the  equator, 
the  rainfall,  the  loess  formation,  and  the  salubrity  of 
the  climate. 

T.  Comparative  Size  of  China,  The  twenty-one 
provinces  of  China  have  an  area  of  1,896,436  square 

' Reinsch,  Paul  S.:  Intellectual  and  Political  Currents  in  the  Far  East. 
Preface,  p.  vii. 


CHINA  AND  THE  WORLD 


19 

miles,  and  a population  estimated  by  the  Chinese  gov- 
ernment in  1910  at  331,188,000.  This  gives  an  aver- 
age population  of  only  122  per  square  mile.  Despite 
her  large  aggregate  population,  therefore,  China  is 
surpassed  in  density  of  population  hy  nine  countries, 
whose  population  per  square  mile  is  as  follow's:  Bel- 
gium, 652;  Holland,  483;  the  United  Kingdom,  373; 
Italy,  318;  Germany,  310;  Switzerland,  234;  Austria- 
Hungary,  207;  Japan,  203;  and  France,  189.  Large, 
therefore,  as  is  China’s  aggregate  population,  never- 
theless she  ranks  tenth  in  density  of  population  among 
the  nations  of  the  world.  The  size  of  China  is  the  first 
natural  cause  of  her  population. 

2.  Quality  of  the  Land.  But  the  size  of  China 
must  not  blind  us  to  another  fact,  namely,  that  por- 
tions of  the  land  are  very  densely  populated.  The 
government  estimate  of  population  for  1910  makes 
the  population  per  square  mile  in  certain  of  the  prov- 
inces as  follows:  Shantung,  528;  Chekiang,  463; 

Kiangsu,  448;  Honan,  376;  Hupeh,  348;  Anhwei,  315; 
Fukien,  282;  Hunan,  282;  Chili,  281 ; Kwantung,  277. 
It  will  thus  be  seen  that  the  population  of  large  por- 
tions of  China  is  very  dense,  perhaps  the  densest  of 
any  population  depending  upon  agriculture  and  hand 
manufacturing  for  its  maintenance,  hence  we  must  not 
rest  with  the  explanation  that  China’s  population  is  due 
solely  to  the  size  of  the  country.  An  additional  cause 
of  the  immense  population  of  China  is  the  large  pro- 
portion of  land  capable  of  cultivation.  A glance  at  a 
relief  map^  of  China  shows  that  the  land  consists  on 
its  western  side  of  mountain  systems,  dropping  down 


* Little,  Archibald:  The  Far  East,  maps  fronting  pp.  19  and  44. 


20 


CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


to  the  plain  of  Szechwan  some  fifteen  hundred  miles 
west  of  the  Pacific  and  continuing'  a mixed  region  of 
mountains,  hills,  and  plains,  to  the  Pacific  Ocean. 
This  rude  outline  of  China  may  be  compared  to  a 
huge  half-moon  facing  southeast  with  the  moun- 
tains rising  on  its  outer  border.  These  immense 
mountain  masses  have  gathered  and  poured  down 
great  quantities  of  water  during  geologic  ages,  bring- 
ing down  the  detritus  which  forms  the  deltas  of 
Hwang-ho  or  Yellow  River  in  the  north,  the  Yangtze 
in  the  center,  and  the  West  River  in  the  south.  This 
process  accounts  for  the  Yangtze  basin  with  some  five 
hundred  and  seventy  thousand  square  miles  of  terri- 
tory, and  the  Yellow  and  West  River  basins,  which 
together  add  perhaps  five  hundred  thousand  square 
miles  more  to  the  delta  land  of  China.^ 

3.  The  Location  With  Reference  to  the 
Equator.  The  third  natural  cause  of  the  fertility 
of  China,  and  therefore  of  her  population,  is  her  loca- 
tion with  reference  to  the  equator.  When  the  map 
of  China  is  placed  upon  proper  parallels  of  latitude 
over  the  map  of  North  America,  it  will  cover  not  only 
the  United  States  but  the  West  Indies,  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico,  most  of  Mexico,  and  a considerable  portion 
of  Central  America.  The  location  of  China  in  refer- 
ence to  the  equator  gives  her,  on  the  whole,  one  of  the 
best  climates  of  any  large  nation  on  earth.  It  permits 
the  production  of  dry  rice  in  Manchuria,  and  of 
water  rice  in  each  of  the  eighteen  provinces.  It  per- 
mits the  production  of  two  or  three  crops  a year  from 
the  same  land  in  a considerable  portion  of  the  nation. 


• Little,  Archibald:  The  Far  East,  p.  18. 


CHINA  AND  THE  WORLD 


21 


and  four  crops  in  some  portions,  so  that  all  the  culti- 
vated land  of  China  proper  averages  at  least  two  crops 
a year.  Hence  the  location  of  China  with  reference  to 
the  equator  is  a third  cause  of  the  immense  population 
of  the  nation,  just  as  a similar  location  is  a cause  of 
the  immense  population  of  India. 

4.  Rainfall.  The  rainfall  adds  immensely  to  the 
productiveness  of  China.  A study  of  the  comparative 
charts  of  rainfall  provided  by  Bartholomew'*  shows 
that  for  all  of  China  south  of  the  Yangtze  with  the 
exception  of  Kweichow,  Yunnan,  and  small  portions 
of  Hupeh  and  Szechwan,  the  average  rainfall  is  from 
fifty  to  seventy-five  inches  per  year  and  for  the  rest  of 
China  proper  and  of  Manchuria  from  twenty-five  to 
fifty  inches.  The  rainfall  of  China  averages  higher 
than  the  rainfall  of  Europe  or  of  the  United  States. 
W erner®  shows  that  eighty-four  great  famines  during 
the  last  four  thousand  years  were  due  to  excessive 
rainfall  and  seventy-one  to  drought.  Moreover,  the 
rainfall  is  usually  well  distributed  with  reference  to 
crop  production.  During  the  winter  the  Pacific  Ocean, 
lying  south  and  east  of  China,  is  warmer  than  the  land 
of  central  and  northern  Asia.  Hence  the  warmer  air 
over  the  Pacific  rises  and  the  cold  dry  air  from  the 
north  and  west  flows  in.  During  the  summer  the  land 
becomes  much  hotter  than  the  ocean,  and  the  air  laden 
with  moisture  flows  in  from  the  southeast  and  is  ar- 
rested and  cooled  by  the  mountains,  resulting  in  copi- 
ous rains.  Hence  by  far  the  larger  portion  of  the  rain 
in  China,  and  especially  in  the  central  and  northern 


‘ Atlas  of  World’s  Commerce,  p.  5,  top  of  page. 

‘ Werner,  E.  T.  C.:  Descriptive  Sociology  of  the  Chinese.  Table  VIII,  col.  37. 


22 


CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


portions  of  the  nation,  falls  in  the  summer  when 
needed  by  the  growing  crops.  Even  in  the  most  arid 
provinces  like  Kansu,  Shensi,  and  Shansi,  where 
famines  from  drought  are  somewhat  common,  the 
summer  rains  vary  from  ten  to  thirty  inches,  and 
usually  are  sufficient  to  insure  a harvest.  The  large 
rainfall  of  China  and  its  favorable  distribution  is  a 
fourth  cause  of  the  immense  population  of  the  nation. 

5.  Loess  Formation.  A fifth  cause  of  the  popu- 
lation is  the  fertility  of  the  northern  and  central  por- 
tions of  China  due  to  the  loess  formation.  This  is 
due  to  the  trade  winds  mentioned  above.  As  the 
weather  is  dry  and  the  vegetation  dead  during  the  late 
fall,  winter,  and  early  spring  months,  when  the  winds 
blow  from  the  northwest,  these  winds  bring  a large 
amount  of  dust  from  Turkestan,  Mongolia,  and 
Siberia.  This  dust  is  deposited  over  the  plains  of 
northern  and  central  China.  When  the  wind  changes 
in  the  spring  and  the  southeast  monsoon  brings  air 
from  the  Pacific  expanded  by  heat  and  laden  with 
moisture,  the  moisture  is  soon  condensed  by  the  moun- 
tains and  falls  in  the  form  of  rain;  thus  the  dust 
which  is  brought  down  from  the  northwest  during 
the  winter  months  is  soon  wet  and  covered  with 
vegetation  and  is  not  carried  back  to  the  northwest 
again.  The  northern  plains  of  China  and  Manchuria 
are  largely  of  loess  formation,  aided  and  modified  by 
the  deposits  of  the  Yellow  River,  while  the  central 
China  plain  is  partly  of  loess  formation,  aided  and 
modified  by  the  Yangtze  River  deposits.  The  main 
loess  deposits  are  in  northern  and  central  China, 
though  we  have  seen  dust  storms  in  the  winter  as  far 


CHINA  AND  THE  WORLD 


23 


south  as  Canton.  The  average  depth  of  the  loess  in 
central  and  northern  China  has  been  estimated  at 
thirty-three  feet.  When  the  land  is  covered  to  a depth 
of  several  feet  with  this  wind-borne  loess — the  richest 
soil  of  the  region  whence  it  came — deposited  in 
columnar  structure  such  that  the  soil  readily  absorbs 
the  rain  and  also  enables  the  roots  to  penetrate  deeply, 
its  fertility  is  almost  inexhaustible.  The  size  and  the 
extraordinary  richness  of  the  loess  formation  of 
China  constitute  an  additional  natural  cause  of  her 
immense  population. 

6.  Salubrity  of  China.  S.  Wells  Williams  says: 
“The  healthy  climate  of  China  has  had  much  to  do 
with  the  civilization  of  its  inhabitants.  No  similar 
area  in  the  world  exceeds  it  for  general  salubrity.”® 
Later  observations  show  that  the  climates  of  North 
America  and  Europe  contribute  to  a speedier  and 
higher  form  of  civilization.^  But  upon  the  whole 
Williams’  statement  is  confirmed  as  to  the  value  of 
this  climate  for  the  maintenance  of  a widespread  and 
long  lived  civilization.  However  observers  may  ex- 
plain the  fact,  the  Chinese  are  one  of  the  toughest  and 
most  virile  races  on  earth.  So  far  as  this  virility  of 
the  Chinese  is  due  to  climate,  its  salubrity  becomes  one 
of  the  natural  causes  of  China’s  population. 

Thus,  in  accounting  for  the  immense  population 
which  China  sustains,  we  must  bear  in  mind,  first,  her 
size,  which,  omitting  the  immense  mountain  and  desert 
masses  of  her  dependencies,  is  about  one  million  nine 
hundred  thousand  square  miles ; second,  the  proportion 


* The  Middle  Kingdom,  vol.  i,  p.  57. 

’ See  Huntington,  Ellsworth : Civilization  and  Climate. 


24 


CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


of  arable  land  as  compared  with  other  nations  or  areas 
of  equal  size ; third,  a climate  which  permits  the  growth 
of  from  two  to  four  crops  a year;  fourth,  the  large 
amount  and  admirable  distribution  of  the  rainfall; 
fifth,  the  loess  formation;  and,  sixth,  the  salubrity  of 
China.  These  six  physical  causes  have  made  possible 
the  immense  population  of  the  nation. 

But  physical  causes  do  not  insure  a large  popula- 
tion. Most  of  these  causes  operate  in  the  Tigris  and 
the  Euphrates  Valleys,  and  they  once  sustained  dense 
populations,  though  they  are  to-day  sparsely  settled. 
Physical  advantages  alone  do  not  create  populations. 
Human  causes  must  be  added  in  order  to  create,  and 
especially  in  order  to  maintain,  a nation  century  after 
century. 

Probably  no  other  people  exhibit  a larger  combina- 
tion of  the  human  qualities  necessary  for  the  mainte- 
nance of  a large  population  than  do  the  Chinese.  The 
Chinese  possess  those  qualities  of  virility  and  indus- 
try, intelligence  and  reasonableness,  adaptability  and 
cheerfulness,  solidity,  common  sense,  and  religion, 
which,  under  suitable  conditions,  make  an  exceedingly 
numerous  people.  The  qualities  of  the  country  and 
of  the  people  are  united  in  the  agricultural  and  indus- 
trial life  of  China. 

I.  Early  Marriage  and  Desire  for  Sons.  The 
first  and  perhaps  the  chief  human  cause  of  the  immense 
population  of  China  grows  out  of  a strange  mixture 
of  spiritual  conviction  and  of  the  strongest  passion  of 
man.  It  is  a religious  conviction  of  the  Chinese  that 
no  man  can  be  at  peace  after  death  unless  he  leaves 
behind  a son  to  perform  the  ancestral  rites  for  the 


CHINA  AND  THE  WORT.D 


25 


repose  of  his  spirit.  Future  felicity  is  of  such  vital 
concern  that  every  man  old  enough  for  marriage  is 
determined  to  have  a son  before  his  death;  and  as 
death  is  no  respecter  even  of  youth,  the  earlier  this 
young  man  marries,  the  safer  his  eternal  interests.  But 
the  matter  is  of  more  than  future  and  individual  con- 
cern. All  the  dead  members  of  the  clan  are  supposed 
to  be  unfavorably  affected  by  failure  in  the  perform- 
ance of  ancestral  rites ; and  the  penalty  for  neglect  of 
ancestral  worship  falls  not  only  upon  the  individual 
but  upon  the  family,  and  upon  all  the  members  of  the 
clan,  usually  coming  in  the  form  of  drought,  flood,  or 
plague.  Hence  not  the  young  man  alone,  but  his  father 
and  mother,  brothers  and  sisters,  cousins,  uncles,  and 
aunts,  are  interested  in  his  early  marriage  and  the 
birth  of  a son.  And  for  the  same  spiritual  and  yet  in- 
tensely practical  reason,  namely,  to  placate  the  an- 
cestral spirits  and  avoid  calamity  to  the  clan,  the  first 
and  supreme  duty  of  women  in  China  is  motherhood. 
Dr.  De  Groot  calls  IMencius  China’s  second  greatest 
philosopher,  and  quotes  from  him  two  statements 
which  De  Groot  thinks  have  had  the  mightiest  influ- 
ence upon  the  family  life  of  China : “Unfilial  conduct 
is  the  worst  of  sins.”  “Three  things  are  unfilial,  and 
having  no  sons  is  the  worst.”  ® W'^estern  peoples  find 
difficulty  in  understanding  these  Chinese  maxims,  but 
De  Groot  explains  them  as  follows : “We  have  to  con- 
sider the  worship  of  parents  and  ancestors  as  the  very 
core  of  the  religious  and  social  life  of  the  Chinese 
people.  As  I have  said,  it  is  mentioned  in  the  ancient 
books  with  so  much  frequency  that  no  doubt  is  possible 

* Groot,  J.  J.  M.,  de:  The  Religion  of  the  Chinese,  p.  81. 


26 


CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


that  it  was  the  kernel  of  religious  life  as  early  as  the 
oldest  historical,  and  even  semihistorical  times.”  ^ 
When  observers  understand  that  so  grave  a people  as 
the  Chinese  take  their  religion  seriously,  that  there  has 
been  an  almost  universal  belief  for  the  past  three  thou- 
sand years  that  failure  to  perform  the  ancestral  rites 
results  in  the  suffering  of  all  one’s  ancestors  in  their 
spirit  life,  and  that  this  sin  is  sure  sooner  or  later  to 
bring  dire  penalties  upon  the  clan  in  the  present  life, 
they  will  see  why  the  Chinese  consider  unfilial  conduct 
to  be  the  worst  of  crimes  and  sonlessness  the  worst  of 
unfilial  conduct.  So  deep  is  this  conviction  among  the 
Chinese  that  for  three  thousand  years  bearing  no  son 
has  been  recognized  as  ample  ground  for  divorcing  a 
wife  and  marrying  another.  Not  only  so,  but  in  lieu 
of  divorcing  the  first  wife,  it  has  justified  concubinage, 
or  the  taking  of  a second  wife,  for  the  sake  of  securing 
a son.  At  just  this  point  the  Chinaman’s  strongest 
passion  supports  his  deepest  religious  conviction.  If 
successive  wives,  or  a wife  and  concubines,  do  not 
result  in  a son,  the  case  is  so  urgent  that  any  younger 
brother  who  has  two  sons  must  give  his  eldest  to  his 
older  brother ; or  the  sonless  husband  must  buy  a son 
of  a more  fortunate  member  of  his  clan  who  has  one  to 
spare.  This  adopted  or  purchased  son  becomes  not 
only  the  legal  heir  but  the  spiritual  descendant  of  his 
putative  father.  Even  if  a wealthy  man  has  sons  by 
his  first  wife,  nevertheless  the  possibility  of  their  death 
and  the  safety  and  glory  of  having  many  sons  is  made 
an  excuse  for  concubinage.  Thus  the  other  human 
causes  of  population  in  China  are  all  made  operative 


• Groot,  J.  J.  M.,  de:  The  Religion  of  the  Chinese,  p.  83. 


CHINA  AND  THE  WORLD 


27 

by  tliis  spiritual  cause  combined  with  the  element  of 
human  passion. 

2.  Value  of  Grain  and  Vegetable  Diet.  The 
second  human  cause  of  the  immense  population  of 
China  is  the  Chinese  discovery  made  centuries  ago  of 
the  superior  value  of  a grain  diet  as  over  against  a 
meat  diet.  C.  G.  Hopkins  says,  “One  thousand  bushels 
of  grain  has  at  least  five  times  as  much  food  value  and 
will  support  five  times  as  many  people  as  will  the  meat 
or  milk  which  can  be  made  from  this  grain.”  The 
Chinese,  relying  solely  on  experimental  knowledge, 
discovered  centuries  ago  that  many  more  could  live  by 
eating  grains  and  vegetables  directly  than  by  turning 
the  grain  into  pork,  beef,  and  mutton,  and  indulging 
in  a meat  diet.  The  Chinese  secure  far  larger  food 
values  from  an  acre  of  land  by  growing,  for  instance, 
rape  upon  it  and  extracting  oil  from  the  seed,  than  by 
pasturing  a cow  on  the  land  and  making  butter  from 
her  milk.  Moreover,  the  Chinese  eat  while  it  is  grow- 
ing and  pickle  for  future  consumption,  as  we  make 
saurkraut,  large  quantities  of  rape;  thus  they  derive 
much  food  directly  from  the  plant  itself  as  well  as  a 
large  amount  of  oil  from  the  seed.  Moreover,  the  rape 
in  southern  and  central  China  is  largely  a winter  crop, 
growing  when  other  crops  are  not  so  valuable,  and 
leaving  ample  time  for  two  or  more  summer  crops  to 
be  taken  from  the  same  field.  Hence,  instead  of  secur- 
ing their  fat  for  cooking  and  consumption  indirectly 
from  the  land  through  animals  in  the  form  of  butter, 
lard,  and  tallow,  the  Chinese  derive  their  oils  very 

•“Hopkins,  C.  G.:  Soil  Fertility  and  Permanent  Agriculture,  quoted  in 
Professor  F.  H.  King’s  Farmers  of  Forty  Centuries,  p.  135. 


28 


CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


largely  from  seeds,  grains,  and  nuts.  We  furnish  in 
Appendix  II  a list  of  thirty-eight  grains,  nuts,  vege- 
tables, and  seeds  from  which  the  Chinese  extract  oil 
for  food.  Chinese  who  are  able  to  afford  meat,  eat 
meat ; and  a large  proportion  of  the  people  use  at  least 
a little  meat  or  fish  for  flavoring  and  enriching  their 
rice ; and  most  of  them  eat  meat  upon  feast  days.  Be- 
cause the  land  will  yield  more  nourishment  if  cultivated 
than  if  left  for  pasture,  pasture  lands  are  infrequent 
in  China,  and  hay  is  very  uncommon.  Again,  because 
the  land  will  yield  more  nourishment  if  devoted  to 
grains  and  vegetables  than  if  devoted  to  orchards, 
fruits  are  not  used  in  such  relatively  large  quantities 
in  China  as  in  the  United  States.  Bananas  and  plan- 
tains are  an  exception  to  this  statement;  and  on  the 
value  of  the  banana  the  Chinese  anticipated  through 
experience  what  scientific  investigation  has  more 
definitely  revealed.  Hence,  the  second  human  cause 
of  the  immense  population  of  China  is  their  custom  of 
eating  directly  their  grains,  vegetables,  and  oils,  in- 
stead of  following  the  costly  method  of  turning  the 
grains  into  animal  food  and  butter  and  living  upon 
this  more  condensed  diet. 

3.  Relative  Cost  and  Value  of  Animal  Foods. 
In  addition  to  the  far  greater  number  of  men  and 
women  who  can  be  sustained  by  the  direct  consumption 
of  grains,  vegetables,  and  vegetable  oils,  the  Chinese 
recognize  the  relative  cost  and  value  of  meats.  Pro- 
fessor Hopkins  calls  attention  to  the  Rothamsted 
feeding  experiments  in  which  it  is  demonstrated  that 
the  same  amount  of  dry  food  which  will  make  four 
pounds  of  beef  will  make  five  pounds  of  mutton  and 


CHINA  AND  THE  WORLD 


29 


eleven  pounds  of  pork."  Chinese  farmers,  without 
any  experiments  and  with  no  accurate  knowledge  of 
the  amounts  of  beef  and  pork  which  a fixed  amount  of 
grain  will  produce,  nevertheless  have  learned  by  cen- 
turies of  experience  that  grain  turned  into  pork  will 
produce  a larger  amount  of  meat  than  when  turned 
into  beef.  Hence  pigs  are  vastly  more  common  in 
China  than  beef  cattle.  The  farmer  has  another  great 
advantage  in  raising  pigs  over  cattle  and  sheep, 
namely,  the  pig  is  a scavenger  and  will  eat  what  the  ox 
and  sheep  will  refuse.  Indeed,  cattle  and  sheep  could 
not  compete  with  pigs  in  any  country  were  it  not  for 
the  milk,  butter,  and  wool  which  they  produce.  But 
the  Chinese  largely  use  vegetable  oils  instead  of  milk 
and  butter,  and  the  majority  of  them  live  so  far  south 
that  cotton  cloth  is  more  highly  prized  than  woolen. 
Hence  the  breeding  of  sheep  is  confined  largely  to 
northern  China,  especially  Manchuria  and  Mongolia, 
where  the  skins  are  used  for  clothing.  Almost  every 
family  in  China  will  have  one  or  two  pigs,  whereas  in 
large  areas  of  China  there  are  few  sheep  and  cattle. 

In  addition  to  pigs,  most  Chinese  families  keep  a few 
chickens,  because  the  chickens  also  are  scavengers  and 
will  eat  what  the  ox  or  the  sheep  will  reject;  and  the 
chicken  can  find  insects  and  worms  and  scattered 
grains  for  food  upon  which  it  can  live  where  the  pig 
would  starve.  In  addition  to  pigs  and  chickens,  the 
Chinese,  in  all  cases  where  water  abounds,  breed  ducks 
because  ducks  get  their  living  largely  from  vegetable 
growths  in  the  bottoms  of  shallow  ponds  where  chick- 

**  Hopkins,  C.  G.;  Soil  Fertility  and  Permanent  Agriculture,  quoted  in 
Professor  F.  H.  King’s  Farmers  of  Forty  Centuries,  p.  135. 


30  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

ens  cannot  feed.  In  addition  to  pigs,  chickens,  and 
ducks,  the  Chinese  breed  fish  along  their  water  courses 
and  in  their  ponds.  For  centuries  they  have  stocked 
their  ponds  and  bred  fish  with  almost  as  much  care 
as  they  breed  chickens  and  ducks.  In  north  China, 
where  the  soil  is  largely  loess  and  will  not  hold  water, 
ponds  are  not  common,  but  in  central  and  south  China 
and  in  parts  of  west  China  a farmer  usually  has  a 
small  pond  near  each  field.  Although  this  pond  may 
be  less  than  a hundred  feet  square,  and  in  some  cases 
less  than  ten  by  twenty  feet,  the  farmer  will  so  stock 
it  with  fish  that  while  it  will  not  yield  so  much  as 
an  equal  area  in  rice  it  will  furnish  water  for  the 
crop  and  will  yield  a food  which  admirably  supple- 
ments the  rice  and  vegetables.  In  many  cases  the 
Chinese  flood  their  fields  and  breed  fish  while  the  land 
is  resting  in  winter.  In  Java  the  farmers  plan  to  take 
from  their  rice  fields  not  only  a large  crop  of  rice,  but 
a ton  or  more  of  fish  per  acre  annually.  The  subsist- 
ence of  the  Chinese  largely  upon  a vegetable  diet,  be- 
cause grain  will  sustain  five  times  as  many  people 
when  eaten  directly  as  it  will  after  it  is  turned  Into 
meat,  and  their  care  in  breeding  those  animals  which 
will  furnish  the  greatest  amount  of  food  in  proportion 
to  the  grain  consumed,  are  among  the  human  causes 
of  the  immense  population  of  China. 

4.  Irrigation.  In  Japan  where  statistics  have  been 
gathered,  forty-six  per  cent  of  the  cultivated  land  has 
been  reduced  to  water  level.  In  northern  China,  where 
less  rice  is  raised  than  in  central  and  southern  China, 
farmers  depend  more  largely  upon  the  summer  rains. 
Nevertheless,  irrigation  prevails  to  some  extent  in 


CHINA  AND  THE  WORLD 


31 


northern  China,  From  such  observations  as  we  have 
made  in  numerous  journeys  we  judge  that  some  fifty 
to  seventy-five  per  cent  of  the  land  in  the  Yangtze 
Valley  and  in  southern  China  is  under  irrigation.^* 

The  chief  method  of  irrigating  the  land  in  China  is 
by  canals.^®  Professor  King  estimates  that  there  are 
two  hundred  thousand  miles  of  canals  in  China.  The 
estimate  impresses  us  as  too  high.  But  we  have 
counted  canals  and  ditches  in  our  travels  in  various 
sections  of  China  and  in  places  have  found  them  almost 
as  common  as  the  main  wagon  roads  in  the  Mississippi 
Valley.  Hence,  if  we  include  in  the  estimate  ditches 
used  largely  for  purposes  of  irrigation,  but  upon  which 
the  Chinese  transport  goods  in  boats,  possibly  Pro- 
fessor King's  estimate  is  not  excessive.  Americans 
will  realize  something  of  the  expense  and  labor  in- 
volved in  constructing  these  works  if  they  imagine 
forty  canals  extending  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pa- 
cific, and  sixty  more  from  the  northern  to  the  southern 
boundary  of  the  United  States,  The  canals  of  China 
have  required  the  expenditure  of  many  times  as  much 
labor  for  their  construction  and  maintenance  as  has 
the  Great  Wall;  and  they  have  been  a thousandfold 
more  valuable  to  the  Chinese;  but  because  they  are 
not  so  spectacular  they  have  not  attracted  from  travel- 
ers a tithe  of  the  attention  which  has  been  devoted  to 
the  Great  Wall. 

Professor  King  says  that  the  Chinese  and  Japan- 
ese have  discovered  as  no  other  races  on  earth  the 
value  of  water  and  the  methods  of  placing  it  upon  the 


See  Appendix  III,  “ Methods  of  Irrigation  in  China.” 
King,  F.  H.:  Fanners  of  Forty  Centuries,  p.  8. 


32 


CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


land  for  the  production  of  large  and  stable  yields. 
Despite  the  large  supply  of  rain  in  southern  China,  the 
Chinese  even  in  that  region  constantly  resort  to  irriga- 
tion. When  one  remembers  the  immense  amount  of 
soil  and  of  valuable  minerals  in  solution  which  are  car- 
ried into  the  ocean  by  the  rivers  of  a country,  but  which 
in  part  are  deflected  and  preserved  to  the  land  by 
means  of  irrigation;  and  especially  when  one  learns 
that  most  agricultural  crops  demand  from  three  to  six 
hundred  tons  of  water  to  every  ton  of  grain  brought  to 
maturity, he  will  readily  recognize  the  immense  value 
of  irrigation  as  one  means  for  maintaining  the  large 
population  of  China.  Thus  China,  without  scientific 
knowledge,  was  the  first  of  the  great  nations  still  in 
existence  to  recognize  the  value  of  irrigation,  and  she 
has  practiced  it  from  her  earliest  recorded  history 
down  to  the  present  time. 

5.  Preserving  AND  Fertilizing  THE  Soil.  A fifth 
human  cause  of  the  immense  population  which  China 
sustains  is  found  in  Chinese  methods  of  preserving  and 
fertilizing  the  soil.  In  order  to  prevent  the  washing 
away  of  the  soil,  as  well  as  to  facilitate  irrigation,  a 
large  proportion  of  the  land  is  cultivated  in  level  fields. 
On  land  somewhat  rolling  a level  field  is  secured  by 
the  process  of  terracing.  As  cultivation  is  ‘chiefly  by 
hand,  the  size  and  shape  of  the  fields  make  little  dif- 
ference to  the  farmer.  Millions  of  fields,  especially  in 
central  and  southern  China,  are  not  larger  than  an 
American  dooryard,  while  many  are  not  larger  than 
a barn  floor — and  Professor  Ross'"  compares  some 


“ King,  F.  H.:  Farmers  of  Forty  Centuries,  p.  7. 
Ross.  E.  A.;  The  Changing  Cliinese,  p.  77. 


CHINA  AND  THE  WORLD 


33 


fields  in  size  to  a napkin.  The  reduction  of  each 
field  to  a level  by  terracing  and  placing  a ridge  of  soil 
around  the  border  not  only  holds  the  irrigating  water 
when  it  is  turned  upon  the  field,  but  prevents  the  wash- 
ing away  of  the  soil.  When  for  any  reason  terracing 
is  impracticable,  the  farmer  usually  huilds  a small 
ridge  around  each  field  and  thus  prevents  the  soil 
from  washing  away.  He  surrounds  such  fields  by 
ditches  to  catch  the  water  which  overflows  in  time  of 
flood,  and  these  ditches  will  be  loosely  dammed  at  the 
end  of  the  field  so  as  to  hold  back  the  wash  of  the  field 
as  far  as  possible.  After  the  rainy  season  farmers 
gather  up  from  these  ditches  the  soil  which  was 
washed  off  their  fields  and  carry  it  back  again.  The 
farmers  annually  clear  out  the  canals  and  ditches 
which  surround  their  land  and  use  the  mud  from  the 
bottom,  with  all  human  and  animal  refuse,  grass, 
potato  vines,  rice,  straw,  and  millet  roots  to  form  a 
compost. 

Turning  to  fertilization.  Professor  King^®  found 
that  in  the  proportion  of  materials  used,  the  time  of 
exposure  to  the  air,  in  the  working  over  of  the  com- 
post for  saving  the  nitrogen  and  other  gases  incident 
to  decomposition,  the  Chinese  by  long  experience  have 
adopted  the  very  methods  recently  formulated  by  sci- 
entific agriculture.  Holding  the  chair  of  agriculture 
in  the  University  of  Wisconsin,  Professor  King  was 
familiar  with  the  splendid  struggle  which  agricultural 
chemistry  had  made  during  the  past  generation  and  its 
brilliant  success  in  demonstrating  the  value  of  the  pulse 
family — peas,  vetch,  clover,  etc. — for  enriching  the  soil 


i*King,  F.  H.:  Farmers  of  Forty  Centuries,  p.  252. 


34 


CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


by  reason  of  the  nodules  of  nitrogen  produced  upon 
their  roots,  nitrogen  in  a form  in  which  it  is  easily 
assimilated  by  growing  vegetation.  But  on  visiting 
China  he  was  amazed  to  find  that  the  Chinese,  without 
ever  having  used  the  term  “scientific  chemistry”  to  de- 
scribe their  processes,  had  learned  the  value  of  this 
family  of  plants  for  mulching  and  that  for  centuries 
they  had  been  following  the  scientific  methods,  dis- 
covered in  Europe  and  America,  of  growing  pulse 
crops  and  plowing  them  under  green  in  order  to  en- 
rich the  soil. 

In  addition  to  putting  back  upon  the  soil  all  human 
and  animal  refuse,  farmers  in  southern  China  draw 
together  the  dry  soil  in  layers  some  six  inches  thick 
on  each  of  which  they  place  a layer  of  vines  and  roots, 
leaves  and  straw.  Upon  this  they  place  another  layer 
of  soil  and  thus  build  up  small  mounds  resembling  hay- 
cocks. Then  they  set  the  vegetable  matter  afire,  and 
as  it  slowly  burns,  the  smoke  and  gases  are  absorbed 
by  the  soil.  Again,  as  the  loess  formation  in  central 
and  northern  China  is  usually  many  feet  in  depth,  the 
farmers  sometimes  lower  one  part  of  a field,  spread- 
ing its  soil  upon  the  rest,  and  then  plant  crops  on  the 
lower  level  thus  produced.  Our  American  method  of 
dumping  sewage  into  rivers  and  lakes  would  be  re- 
garded by  the  Chinese  as  incredible  folly,  not  on  the 
ground  that  it  poisons  our  drinking  water,  but  because 
of  the  waste  of  matter  needed  for  fertilization.  On 
both  sanitary  and  economic  grounds  modern  science 
is  coming  to  the  Chinese  estimate  of  our  present  prac- 
tice. While  the  Chinese  have  never  made  the  scientific 
discovery  of  microbes  and  the  contamination  of  water 


CHINA  AND  THE  WORLD 


35 


by  certain  of  them,  all  their  water  is  so  thoroughly 
contaminated  by  being  first  used  for  the  irrigation  and 
fertilization  of  the  fields,  that  they  have  learned,  again 
by  bitter  experience,  not  to  drink  cold  water;  indeed, 
they  regard  cold  water  as  per  sc  unhealthful.  To  be 
sure,  their  poverty  leads  multitudes  to  pour  boiling 
water  over  the  same  tea  leaves  a dozen  times,  and 
some  use  other  leaves  as  a substitute  for  tea.  But 
without  ever  discovering  that  boiling  the  water  kills 
the  microbes,  or  that  there  are  any  microbes  to  be 
killed,  they  know  that  boiled  water  poured  over  tea 
leaves  even  the  twentieth  time  is  safe  and  that  “raw” 
water  is  dangerous. 

While  the  Chinese  have  lost  much  soil  from  their 
hills  and  mountains  by  deforestation,  nevertheless  they 
have  so  preserved  and  enriched  their  soil  that  after 
more  than  two  thousand  years  of  cultivation  their  land 
still  yields  a higher  average  per  acre  for  most  crops, 
and  much  more  per  acre  for  the  year,  than  land  in  the 
United  States  in  similar  latitudes.  The  preservation 
and  fertilization  of  the  soil  is  an  added  cause  of  the 
population  of  China. 

Intensive  Cultivation.  Another  human  cause 
of  the  great  population  which  China  sustains  is  in- 
tensive cultivation.  An  evidence  of  this  is  the  number 
of  crops  which  the  Chinese  secure  annually,  averaging, 
as  already  mentioned,  some  two  crops  or  more  per 
year.  Another  illustration  of  intensive  cultivation  is 
found  in  the  comparative  cleanliness  of  Chinese  fields 
from  weeds,  especially  when  the  grains  or  vegetables 
are  young  and  are  most  injured  by  weeds.  It  must  not 
be  understood  that  there  are  no  weeds  in  China.  The 


36  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


natural  depravity  of  animate  and  inanimate  things  is 
as  great  in  China  as  in  any  other  country.  But  the 
Chinese  hold  that  the  strength  of  soil  needed  to  sustain 
a weed  will  support  an  additional  stalk  of  rice.  Hence 
their  fields  are  better  cultivated  and  cleaner  than  most 
American  fields.  Indeed,  when  the  crops  are  young, 
one  may' sometimes  pass  half  a dozen  fields  looking  for 
weeds  before  seeing  a single  one. 

An  example  of  intensive  cultivation  is  found  in  the 
care  of  rice.  The  beds  in  which  the  water  rice  is  first 
sown  are  very  thoroughly  prepared  and  highly  fertil- 
ized, and  the  rice  after  being  sown  in  these  beds  is 
carefully  tended  for  thirty  to  fifty  days  before  being 
transplanted.  As  one  acre  thus  sown  to  rice  furnishes 
sufficient  plants  for  ten  acres  of  land,  the  other  nine 
acres  are  used  for  the  ripening  of  other  crops  during 
the  first  thirty  days  when  the  rice  is  getting  started  in 
the  beds.  Again,  the  water  rice  is  planted  in  fields 
which  have  been  terraced  to  a water  level,  so  that  by 
irrigating  the  field  with  an  inch  of  water  the  farmer 
reaches  every  rice  plant  in  it.  The  field  is  not  only 
kept  under  water  a considerable  portion  of  the  time, 
but  carefully  cultivated  and  fertilized.  Hence  Sir 
Alexander  Hosie,  a very  careful  observer,  estimates 
that  the  dry  rice  yields  twenty-two  bushels  per  acre 
and  the  water  rice  forty-four  bushels  per  acre.^’  Pro- 
fessor King’s  estimates,  secured  independently,  make 
a yield  of  forty-two  bushels  per  acre  for  water  rice.‘“ 

What  is  true  of  rice  is  true  of  wheat.  The  Chinese 
have  had  for  hundreds  of  years  a wheat  drill,  which 


” Quoted  in  F.  H.  King's  Farmers  of  Forty  Centuries,  p.  271. 
**  King,  F.  H.:  Farmers  of  Forty  Centuries,  p.  271. 


CHINA  AND  THE  WORLD 


37 


we  regard  as  an  American  invention,  and  wheat  is 
planted  in  rows  and  often  in  hills,  like  corn,  and  care- 
fully cultivated,  watered,  and  fertilized  while  growing. 
As  a result,  while  Americans  average  fifteen  bushels 
of  wheat  per  acre,  and  the  Japanese  seventeen  bushels, 
the  Chinese  average  twenty-five  bushels  per  acre.^® 
Indeed,  we  once  measured  single  stalks  of  wheat  in  a 
field  in  Yungan  Valley,  Fukien  Province,  five  feet  ten 
inches  in  height,  while  the  entire  field  averaged  over 
five  feet  in  height.  Such  fields  yield  forty  and  fifty 
bushels  per  acre.  In  the  meantime,  four  or  five  weeks 
before  the  wheat  is  ready  for  the  harvest,  a second 
crop  of  some  other  grain  or  vegetable  is  often  planted 
between  the  rows  of  wheat  and  will  have  four  or  five 
weeks’  growth  before  the  wheat  is  harvested.  Inas- 
much as  the  wheat  is  either  cut  by  a handsickle  or 
pulled  up  by  hand,  the  growing  crop  is  not  disturbed. 
This  method  of  harvesting  the  wheat  shows  the  strain 
which  the  farmers  put  upon  themselves  in  order  to 
secure  an  extra  crop  from  their  fields. 

Again,  all  through  central  and  southern  China  the 
farmers  produce  for  their  winter  crops  large  amounts 
of  rape,  winter  wheat,  barley,  Windsor  beans,  and 
green  crops  like  lettuce  and  cabbage.  They  cultivate 
such  crops  as  are  best  adapted  to  the  soil  and  to  the 
changing  temperature,  and  many  of  the  crops  named 
will  flourish  even  if  the  temperature  drops  to  the  freez- 
ing point.  They  also  observe  to  some  extent  a proper 
rotation  of  crops  and  choose  those  crops  which  ripen 
in  time  to  permit  the  growth  of  another  crop  adapted 
to  the  season.  With  the  Chinese,  labor  Is  cheap  and 


“ Ibid.,  p.  271. 


38  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

land  dear ; in  America  land  has  been  cheap  and  labor 
dear.  Hence  Americans,  with  much  land  at  their  dis- 
posal and  with  modern  machinery,  produce  much  more, 
man  for  man,  than  do  Chinese.  But  the  Chinese  pro- 
duce  much  more,  acre  for  acre,  than  do  Americans. 
Surely,  in  the  intensive  cultivation  of  their  land,  of 
which  many  more  illustrations  could  be  furnished,  we 
find  another  human  cause  of  the  large  population  of 
China. 

7.  Substitution  of  Human  for  Animal  Labor. 
Another  reason  for  the  great  population  which  China 
sustains  is  the  substitution  of  human  for  animal  labor. 
The  amount  of  land  required  to  provide  grain  for  a 
horse  will  provide  food  for  a man ; and  for  the  sake  of 
life,  the  man  in  China  is  willing  to  do  the  horse’s  work. 
Despite  the  knowledge  and  appreciation  of  horses  for 
four  thousand  years,  the  horse  never  has  become  a 
common  animal  in  China.  In  central,  southern,  and 
western  China,  almost  all  transportation  is  by  boats, 
wheelbarrows,  or  carrying  on  the  shoulders  by  men. 
Foreigners  are  amazed  at  the  few  horses  used  in  cul- 
tivating the  land.  In  northern  China,  including  Man- 
churia and  Mongolia,  horses,  ponies,  and  mules  are 
used  for  transportation  and  to  some  extent  for  work 
on  farms.  But  many  human  beings  in  China  do  the 
work  of  animals  and  supplant  them.  Chi  Hwangti, 
founder  of  the  Tsin  Dynasty,  B.  C.  255,  was  annoyed 
by  the  noise  of  the  wheels  of  his  chariot,  and  ordered 
the  body  of  his  carriage  carried  on  men’s  shoulders. 
Possibly  this  was  the  beginning  of  travel  in  sedan 
chairs  in  China.  This  method  of  travel  never  would 
have  become  general  and  continued  for  ages  had  not 


CHINA  AND  THE  WORLD 


39 


the  Chinese  been  so  hard  pressed  for  food  as  to  assume 
even  the  horse’s  burdens  in  order  to  obtain  it.  Here 
is  an  added  human  cause  of  the  population  of  China. 

8.  Large  Variety  of  Grains  and  Vegetables 
AND  Fruits  Used.  An  eighth  human  cause  of  the 
population  which  China  sustains  almost  wholly  by 
farming  is  the  number  and  variety  of  grains,  vege- 
tables, and  fruits  which  the  Chinese  have  developed 
and  now  cultivate.  The  first  botanical  garden  in  the 
world  of  which  we  have  record  was  established  in 
China  by  the  Emperor  Wu  Ti,  B.  C.  in,  unless  pos- 
sibly Solomon  had  such  a garden.  Of  the  nine  thou- 
sand species  of  flora  thus  far  discovered  in  China, 
almost  half  are  peculiar  to  China.  E.  H.  Wilson^"  says 
there  is  a greater  variety  of  trees  in  China  than  in  all 
North  America.  The  London  Times^^  says,  “China 
has  the  richest  temperate  flora  in  the  world.”  Pro- 
fessor Sargent,  of  the  Harvard  Arboretum,  in  connec- 
tion with  E.  H.  Wilson  and  other  botanists,  has  intro- 
duced into  the  United  States  some  twelve  hundred 
species  of  trees,  plants,  and  flowers  from  China.^* 
The  same  has  been  done  for  England.  Thus,  the 
Western  world  is  being  enriched  by  the  unusual  pro- 
ductiveness of  China.  Instead  of  the  Chinese  people 
being  limited  to  rice  alone,  they  use  a far  larger  variety 
of  vegetables,  grains,  and  tubers  than  do  Europeans 
and  Americans. 

Among  the  more  important  plants  and  fruits  culti- 
vated in  China  are  the  following:  rice,  beans,  soy 
bean,  sweet  potatoes,  kaoliang  and  other  millet,  wheat. 


” National  Geographic  Magazine,  November,  1911,  p.  1009. 
**  Weekly  Ed.,  December  5,  1913. 

” Bashford,  James  W.:  Notes,  bk.  42,  p.  53. 


40 


CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


sugar  cane,  corn;  fruits  like  pears,  persimmons,  ban- 
anas, litchi ; with  immense  quantities  of  vegetables  like 
carrots,  cabbage,  lettuce,  spinach,  etc.  Indeed,  in  our 
early  travels  in  China  we  were  impressed  with  the 
great  variety  of  the  products  of  the  soil  eaten  by  the 
Chinese,  and  began  entering  in  our  note  books  lists  of 
grains,  vegetables,  and  fruits  raised  and  used  for  food. 
We  have  been  able  to  identify  four  hundred  and 
seventy-eight  species  of  plants — not  counting  varieties 
— used  for  human  food  in  China.  In  addition,  we 
have  the  Chinese  names  of  thirty-two  plants  yet  un- 
identified. We  have  no  similar  list  for  Europe  or  for 
the  United  States;  but  the  Chinese  eat  some  plants 
which  Western  races  regard  as  weeds.  This  combina- 
tion of  necessity  upon  the  part  of  the  people  with  the 
abundance  and  variety  of  vegetation  enable  the 
Chinese  to  use  for  food  a larger  number  of  the  prod- 
ucts of  the  earth  than  any  other  nation. 

We  have  entered  in  this  chapter  scarcely  one  tenth 
of  the  material  gathered,  illustrating  the  industry  and 
intelligence,  the  common  sense  and  the  thoroughness 
with  which  the  Chinese  use  their  native  resources,  and 
which  enable  them  to  secure  such  large  results  from 
their  land.  We  have  omitted  also  a mass  of  details 
illustrating  the  hardships  which  they  endure,  but  suffi- 
cient data  have  been  furnished  to  make  clear  some  of 
the  natural  and  human  causes  which  have  made  China 
the  oldest  and  the  most  populous  nation  on  earth.  We 
reenforce  our  conclusion  with  two  quotations  from 
Professor  King:  “In  .selecting  rice  as  their  staple  crop; 
in  developing  and  maintaining  their  systems  of  irriga- 
tion and  drainage,  notwithstanding  they  have  a large 


CHINA  AND  THE  WORLD 


41 


summer  rainfall ; in  their  system  of  multiple  croppings ; 
in  their  extensive  and  persistent  use  of  legumes  for 
enriching  the  soil ; in  their  rotation  of  crops  and  their 
use  of  green  manure  to  maintain  the  humus  of  their 
soils  and  for  composting;  and  in  the  almost  religious 
fidelity  with  which  they  return  to  their  fields  every 
form  of  waste  which  can  replace  ])lant  food  removed 
by  the  crop,  China  and  Japan  have  demonstrated  a 
grasp  of  essentials  and  of  fundamental  principles 
which  may  well  cause  Western  nations  to  pause  and 
reflect.^^  “With  our  broad  fields,  our  machinery  and 
few  people,  their  system  appears  to  us  crude  and  im- 
possible; but  cut  our  holdings  to  the  size  of  theirs,  and 
the  same  stroke  makes  our  machinery,  even  our  plows, 
still  more  impossible ; and  so  the  more  one  studies  the 
environment  of  these  people,  thus  far  unavoidable, 
their  numbers,  what  they  have  done  and  are  doing, 
against  what  odds  they  have  succeeded,  the  more  diffi- 
cult it  becomes  to  see  what  course  might  have  been 
better.” 

Books  for  Reference 

Bartholomew,  J.  G. : Atlas  of  the  World’s  Commerce. 
E.  Bretschneider : Botanicon  Sinicum  (3  Vols.)  ; History  of 
the  European  Botanical  Discoveries  in  China ; On  the  Study 
of  Chinese  Botanical  Works.  Candolle,  Alphonse  L.  P.,  de: 
Origin  of  Cultivated  Plants.  Groot,  J.  J.  i\I.,  de:  The  Religion 
of  the  Chinese.  Forbes  and  Helmsley:  Plants  in  China  (3 
Vols.,  being  Vols.  XXIII,  XXVI,  and  XXXVI  of  the  publi- 
cations of  the  Linnean  Society  of  Great  Britain).  Hopkins, 
C.  G. : Soil  Fertility  and  Permanent  Agriculture,  quoted  in 
King’s  volume;  King,  F.  H.:  Farmers  of  Forty  Centuries. 
Li  Shih  Chin:  Pen-tsao,  or  Chinese  Herbal.  (All  writers 


“ King,  F.  H.:  Farmers  of  Forty  Centuries,  pp.  274-276. 
^ Ibid.,  pp.  289,  290. 


42 


CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


upon  the  products  of  the  soil  of  China  are  greatly  indebted 
to  this  Chinese  botanist,  who  spent  some  twenty-six  years 
gathering  materials  from  nature  and  consulting  some  eight 
hundred  earlier  Chinese  writers  before  finishing  his  encyclo- 
pedic volume,  which  was  completed  in  1578  and  published 
in  1597.)  Little,  Archibald:  The  Far  East.  Richard,  P.  L. : 
Comprehensive  Geography  of  the  Chinese  Empire.  Richt- 
ofen,  Baron  Ferdinand  von:  Letters  to  the  Shanghai  Chamber 
of  Commerce.  Ross,  E.  A. : The  Changing  Chinese.  Smith,  F. 
Porter : Chinese  Materia  Medica.  Stuart,  George  A. : Chinese 
Materia  Medica.  Werner,  E.  T.  C. : Descriptive  Sociology 
of  the  Chinese.  Williams,  S.  Wells:  The  Middle  Kingdom 
(2  Vols.).  Wilson,  E.  H. : A Naturalist  in  Western  China 
(2  Vols.).  We  have  also  been  aided  in  identifying  the  plants 
used  for  food  in  China  by  Mrs.  Clemens,  wife  of  Chaplain 
Joseph  Clemens,  U.  S.  A.  Mrs.  Clemens  has  taken  an  untir- 
ing interest  in  the  study  of  plant  life  in  China. 


CHAPTER  II 


INDUSTRIAL  LIFE  IN  CHINA 

Apparently,  the  Chinese  were  among  the  earliest 
peoples  to  discover  the  industrial  advantages  of  a divi- 
sion of  labor  and  of  an  exchange  of  products.  In  The 
Chinese  Classics,  edited  by  Confucius  B.  C.  551-478, 
the  people  are  represented  as  divided  into  five  classes 
scholars,  farmers,  artisans,  merchants,  servants;  and 
they  ranked  in  honor  in  the  order  named.  Soldiers 
were  included  under  servants,  and  soldiers  instead  of 
servants  are  often  named  as  the  fifth,  or  lowest,  class, 
though  military  conquerors  as  often  in  China  as  in 
other  lands  have  reached  the  headship  of  the  nation. 
Confucius  refers  this  division  of  the  people  into  classes 
to  two  thousand  years  before  his  time.  In  studying 
Chinese  history,  students  do  not  reach  clear  historical 
ground  before  B.  C.  776.  How  far  back  of  that  indis- 
putable date  the  student  will  regard  history  as 
authentic  is,  according  to  R.  K.  Douglas,  a matter  of 
individual  judgment;  and  he  himself  regards  the  his- 
tory as  reasonably  reliable  back  at  least  to  B.  C.  1766.^ 

The  most  valuable  authority  on  the  industrial  life 
of  China  is  Werner’s  Descriptive  Sociology  of  the 
Chinese.  The  five  kinds  of  grain  mentioned  in  The 
Chinese  Classics,  edited  by  Confucius,  are  referred  to 
the  mythological  emperor,  Shennung  (2738-2698 

• See  Appendix  V,  "Classes  of  Society  in  China.” 

• Encyclopsdia  Britannica,  vol.  vi,  p.  193,  d. 

43 


44 


CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


B.  C.).  E.  Bretschneider,  says  the  grains 

designated  were  rice,  wheat,  barley,  millet,  and  soy 
beans.  StuarP  says  the  grains  were  rice,  wheat,  two 
kinds  of  millet  and  soy  beans — barley  being  identified 
with  wheat.  Undoubtedly,  these  five  kinds  of  grain 
had  been  discovered  and  were  in  use  long  before  the 
time  of  Confucius.  The  Pen-tsao,®  or  Chinese  Herbal, 
says  the  use  of  tea  was  mentioned  as  early  as  B.  C. 
2700.  Bretschneider  says  tea  was  used  as  a drink  in 
the  days  of  Confucius,  but  did  not  become  the  common 
beverage  of  the  Chinese  until  the  sixth  and  seventh 
centuries  A.  D.  The  first  reference  to  the  cultivation 
of  the  tea  plant  is  found  A.  D.  350.® 

Iron  mines  were  opened  in  very  early  ages,  iron  was 
used  for  money  and  for  tools,  and  the  iron  industry 
assumed  a growing  importance  between  B.  C.  1122- 
221.’  Pland  grain  mills,  and  hand  looms  and  hand  em- 
broidery, fishing  with  lines  and  nets,  buckwheat  for 
food  in  addition  to  the  grains  already  named,  the  use 
of  indigo  for  dyeing  and  rearing  of  silk  worms  find 
early  mention,  while  cows,  sheep,  swine,  chickens, 
ducks,  geese,  and  dogs  were  the  domestic  animals  of 
the  Chinese  a thousand  years  before  Christ.  Spin- 
ning, weaving,  dyeing,  the  rearing  of  silk  worms  and 
the  wearing  of  silk  are  claimed  by  the  Chinese  as  be- 
longing to  an  even  earlier  date.  Among  industries 
mentioned  in  Confucius’s  edition  of  the  Classics  as 


’ Bretschneider,  E.  On  the  Study  and  Value  of  Chinese  Botanical  Works 
PP-  13.  4S- 

< Stuart,  George  A.:  Chinese  Materia  Medica,  p.  305. 

‘ Encyclop®dia  Britannica,  vol.  vi,  p.  228. 

•Werner,  E.  T.  C.;  Descriptive  Sociology  of  the  Chinese,  Table  IV,  col.  32. 
’ Ibid.,  Table  II,  cols.  26,  27,  34,  35. 


INDUSTRIAL  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


45 


existing  long  before  his  time  are  rope-making  and  car- 
pentry. Among  articles  of  diet**  in  this  early  age,  beef, 
mutton,  dog,  hare,  fowls,  grains,  apricots,  and  bam- 
boo shoots  are  named.  Fans,  metal  mirrors,  flatirons, 
umbrellas,  bamboo  writing  tablets,  and  hair  pencils, 
the  abacus  for  reckoning  accounts,  lamps,  candles 
made  from  the  oils  of  certain  trees,  chopsticks — all 
were  in  use  a thousand  years  before  the  time  of 
Christ.® 

Between  B.  C.  221  and  A.  D.  221  porcelain,  paper, 
some  form  of  printing  with  an  ink  made  of  ver- 
milion and  oil,  and  a machine  for  sowing  or  planting 
grain,^®  are  mentioned walls  of  buildings  were  con- 
structed then,  as  now,  by  pounding  clay  between 
wooden  frames.  City  and  national  walls  were  built 
by  imperial  levies  of  labor.  Preexisting  walls  were 
joined  together,  thus  forming  one  united  Great  Wall, 
by  Shi-Hwang-ti,  B.  C.  214-204,  though  it  was 
largely  rebuilt  in  the  fourteenth  century ; stone  bridges, 
terraces  and  temples  were  erected ; flails,  forks,  spades, 
sickles,  needles  and  thread,  beds,  steamers  for  cooking 
food  and  stone  rollers  for  leveling  fields  were  in  com- 
mon use.  Among  foods,  vermicelli,  bean-curd,  refined 
salt  and  condiments,  sauces,  vinegar,  honey,  sugar, 
and  many  fruits  are  mentioned.^^ 

No  slaves  appear  in  the  earliest  recorded  history  of 
China:  “The  elders  employed  the  younger  and  the 
well-to-do  the  poor.”  But  the  labor  of  all  was  at  the 

* Wemer,  E.  T.  C.:  Descriptive  Sociology  of  the  Chinese,  Table  II,  col.  32. 

• Ibid.,  Table  II,  cols.  33,  34. 

Ibid.,  Table  III,  cols.  27,  28,  34. 

“Ibid.,  Table  III,  col.  i. 

■-  Ibid.,  Table  III,  cols.  27,  28,  32,  34. 

Ibid.,  Table  I,  col.  2. 


46  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

disposal  of  the  sovereign.  No  man  could  have  an  occu- 
pation different  from  his  father,  save  by  the  order  or 
consent  of  the  sovereign.  Trades  were  segregated  in 
different  streets.  Men  and  horses  and  cattle — all  were 
used  in  the  earliest  ages  and  all  in  some  measure  are 
yet  used  for  drawing  the  plow.  Slavery  was  intro- 
duced into  China  B.  C.  204,“  through  the  sale  of  chil- 
dren, but  we  do  not  think  it  has  been  sufficiently  gen- 
eral seriously  to  affect  the  industrial  life  of  the  people.^® 
It  has  consisted  chiefly  of  the  purchase  of  girls  or 
women  for  domestic  service  and  for  concubines;  its 
inevitable  evils  have  appeared  in  the  degradation  of 
family  life.  For  the  past  two  thousand  years  there  has 
been  very  little  change  in  the  articles  of  food,  raiment, 
or  instruments  of  production,  or  in  clothing,  house- 
building or  any  other  of  the  industrial  arts,  save  that 
cotton-growing,  introduced  into  China  between  A.  D. 
960  and  A.  D.  1280,  caused  a marked  change  in  the 
clothing  of  the  people.^®  The  fundamental  human 
causes  of  production  are  physical  vitality,  industry, 
economy,  intelligence,  and  power  of  combination. 

I.  Physical  Vitality.  The  Chinese  are  a virile 
race.  Two  facts  at  least  are  beyond  question — the 
Chinese  nation  is  the  largest  in  numbers  of  all  the 
nations  on  the  earth,  and  their  civilization  is  the  oldest 
continuous  civilization  on  our  globe.  The  virility  of 
the  race  is  indisputable.  The  physical  vitality  of  the 
Chinese  is  so  great  that  they  have  captured  industries 
and  trades  from  the  Russians  in  Vladivostock  and 

“ Werner,  E.  T.  C.:  Descriptive  Sociology  of  the  Chinese,  Table  III,  col.  a. 

■‘Ibid.,  p.  II,  cols.  2,  3;  compare  John  K.  Ingram's  History  of  Slavery, 
pp.  269-271. 

>•  Ibid.,  Table  VI,  col.  29. 


INDUSTRIAL  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


47 


along  the  Trans-Siberian  Railway,  and  have  led  in 
industries  and  coninierce  in  competition  with  Japan- 
ese, Indians,  Arabians,  Europeans,  and  Americans  in 
every  neutral  port  in  IMalaysia,  The  Chinese  prob- 
ably can  labor  more  continuously  under  extremes  of 
heat  and  cold  than  any  other  people  on  earth. 

On  the  other  side,  unquestionably  the  vitality  of  the 
Chinese  was  lowered  by  the  use  of  opium.  Medical 
science  shows  that  their  vitality  has  been  lowered  by 
venereal  diseases,  by  hookworm,  by  malaria,  by  tuber- 
culosis, and  by  footbinding.  Their  habits  of  thrift  are 
demoralized,  and  their  industry  interfered  with  by 
their  passion  for  gambling.  It  is  also  true  that  when- 
ever the  Chinese  have  become  rich  they  have  fallen 
into  idleness  and  luxury,  the  same  as  other  peoples. 
Official  corruption,  moreover,  has  tainted  the  indus- 
trial and  commercial  life  of  China  more  fully  than  that 
of  any  other  nation.  The  industrial  efficiency  of 
China’s  young  men  is  in  danger  of  being  lowered 
through  the  use  of  wine  and  cigarettes. 

Unfortunately,  all  other  peoples  share  with  the 
Chinese  these  vices  which  affect  at  once  character  and 
industrial  efficiency,  though  official  corruption,  concu- 
binage, and  gambling  are  more  openly  practiced  by  the 
Chinese  than  by  any  other  civilized  people,  while  foot- 
binding is  confined  to  them.  While  concubinage  with 
all  its  baleful  influences  is  more  openly  practiced  in 
China  than  in  Western  lands,  sexual  vice  is  quite  as 
widespread  among  other  peoples  as  among  the 
Chinese.  With  the  death  penalty  for  adultery  in  force 
in  China  from  the  earliest  ages  to  the  present,  and  with 
far  fewer  open  opportunities  and  invitations  to  sexual 


48  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


sin  in  China  than  in  Japan,  probably  a scientific  exam- 
ination will  show  that  the  Chinese  have  suffered  less 
in  their  virility  and  industrial  efficiency  from  this  form 
of  sin  than  have  most  of  their  competitors. 

Again,  while  they  do  not  largely  use  meat — the 
muscle-building  food — Dr.  J.  B.  Neal’s  examination 
of  foods  eaten  by  some  hundreds  of  Chinese  shows  that 
they  secure  in  their  diet  through  the  use  of  oils,  beans, 
nuts,  etc.,  fully  as  large  a proportion  of  foods  produc- 
ing physical  energy  as  the  other  nations  of  the  world. 
At  any  rate,  the  Chinese  have  physical  vitality  suffi- 
cient to  make  them  the  competitors,  and  in  most  cases 
the  industrial  supplanters,  of  all  with  whom  they  come 
in  contact. 

2.  Industry.  Like  all  other  people,  if  the  Chinese 
are  working  for  wages  instead  of  for  themselves,  they 
waste  time.  But  even  when  boatmen,  cart  drivers,  or 
chairmen  are  hired  by  the  day,  they  often  call  the 
traveler  at  five  o’clock  in  the  morning,  sometimes  at 
four  or  even  at  half-past  three,  and  ask  if  it  is  not  time 
to  be  up  and  on  the  road.  At  the  spur  of  our  chairmen, 
bills  frequently  are  settled,  the  inn  left,  and  the  gate  of 
the  city  reached  before  daylight,  and  the  gatekeeper  is 
aroused  to  open  the  gate  for  an  early  start  upon  the 
day’s  journey.  While  these  carriers  are  anxious  to 
start  at  an  early  hour,  they  are  equally  anxious  to  reach 
the  end  of  the  day’s  journey  before  dark.  The  Chinese 
have  a conviction  that  robberies  are  more  apt  to  occur 
in  the  evening  when  the  robbers  have  the  night  for 
their  escape  than  in  the  morning  when  daylight  will 
soon  reveal  all  who  are  on  the  road.  Workmen  en- 
gaged upon  a building  will  begin  work  before  five 


INDUSTRIAL  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


49 


o’clock  in  the  morning’  and  continue  until  nearly  eight 
o’clock  at  night,  although  in  such  cases  they  take  two 
or  three  hours  for  sleep  in  the  middle  of  the  day.  The 
late  empress  dowager  was  accustomed  to  summon  her 
ministers  and  enter  upon  important  business  long  be- 
fore dawn.  We  have  frequently  gone  to  sleep  at  night 
hearing  the  sound  of  a rice  huller,  or  of  a blacksmith 
hammering  on  his  anvil,  and  have  awakened  in  the 
morning  with  the  same  sounds  continuing,  as  if  the 
labor  had  lasted  throughout  the  night.  In  such  cases, 
however,  as  also  in  cases  where  we  have  seen  the 
farmers  at  work  in  their  fields  until  the  darkness  shut 
out  the  view  and  again  seen  them  in  their  fields  as  soon 
as  daylight  appears,  the  Chinese  have  not  worked  all 
night,  but  simply  beyond  our  hours  of  observation. 
The  Chinese  have  a great  lesson  to  learn  from  Amer- 
ican industrial  workmen  in  continuing  uninterruptedly 
at  their  work  during  the  hours  of  industry,  in  speed, 
and  in  eliminating  all  loss  in  movements.  But  even  on 
these  points  the  Hanyang  iron  workers  are  approach- 
ing Pittsburgh  workmen.  Again,  Meadows  remarks 
that  the  Chinese  treat  their  domestic  animals  with 
greater  kindness  than  do  Western  peoples,  and  that 
thus  the  animals  prosper  better  and  are  cared  for  with 
less  labor  than  in  Western  lands.^’  We  are  sure  of 
the  fact  which  iMeadows  mentions,  and  it  has  some 
industrial  value ; but  of  more  industrial  value  is  their 
well-nigh  universal  system  of  hatching  eggs  by  arti- 
ficial heat  and  of  breeding  fish  by  stocking  their  ponds 
with  eggs  or  young  fish. 

3.  Economy.  Along  with  their  industry,  their 


Meadows,  T.  T.:  The  Chinese  and  Their  Rebellions,  pp.  616,  619. 


50 


CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


economy  is  proverbial.  Possibly,  like  some  of  their 
other  good  qualities,  economy  is  not  so  much  an  inher- 
ent virtue  of  the  Chinese  as  a quality  developed  by  the 
stern,  hard  necessities  of  their  life.  A Chinese  seldom 
practices  economy  as  a virtue  in  itself,  though  a 
Chinese  proverb  suggests  economy  even  for  the  rich: 

Though  you  be  a millionaire, 

Mend  one  half  the  clothes  you  wear. 

Whatever  may  be  the  theories  of  the  race,  the  vast 
mass  of  the  people  from  necessity  practice  the  most 
rigid  economy.  That  “nothing  ever  goes  to  waste”  is 
probably  more  nearly  true  in  China  than  in  any  other 
country  on  earth — not  excepting  India.  The  Chinese 
farmers  eat  cucumbers,  melons,  etc.,  without  removing 
the  rind.  The  farmers  use  overcoats  of  grass  and  hats 
of  palm  leaves,  and  all  use  varnished  paper  umbrellas. 
Stories  in  regard  to  the  consumption  of  dogs,  cats,  and 
rats  in  China  to  a large  extent  misrepresent  the 
Chinese.  Such  meat  is  seldom  seen  in  the  markets, 
and  the  Chinese  who  can  afford  other  food  do  not  eat 
these  animals.  However,  Dr.  Arthur  H.  Smith  tells  us 
that  the  habit  of  eating  the  horse,  cow,  or  dog  in  China, 
whenever  one  of  these  animals  dies,  is  well  established. 
J.  Dyer  Ball  says,  “Rats  are  eaten,  and  so  are  cats, 
dogs,  and  even  snakes.”^®  Dr.  N.  S.  Plopkins,  of 
Peking,  mentions  a call  to  visit  a person  bitten  by  a 
dog.  As  he  was  detained  at  the  hospital  by  a critical 
case,  he  sent  forward  his  Chinese  helper  to  get  the 
head  of  the  dog,  in  order  that  the  spittle  might  be 
tested  for  rabies.  When  the  doctor  arrived  he  was 


“ The  Chinese  at  Home,  p.  165. 


INDUSTRIAL  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


51 


met  at  the  gate  by  his  helper  with  the  discourag- 
ing statement,  “Too  late,  loo  late:  dog  all  eaten.” 
Dr.  Hopkins  adds  that  he  has  frequently  seen  running 
sores  upon  Chinese  caused  by  eating  animals  which 
have  died  from  disease.  In  one  Chinese  village  where 
camels  were  in  abundance  we  asked  if  any  camel’s 
meat  was  available.  The  innkeeper  replied,  “None 
can  be  had,  as  no  camel  has  died  recently.”  We  once 
saw  a dead  fish  so  large  and  puffed  up  that  it  took  two 
or  three  men  to  draw  it  from  the  water  and  carry  it  to 
the  village.  The  villagers  made  a great  feast  that 
night  and  consumed  the  whole  of  it.  But  such  food 
is  usually  eaten  by  the  very  poor,  or  else  in  times  of 
famine.  We  have  seen  grass  roots,  the  bark  of  trees, 
and  last  year’s  potato  vines  eaten  in  times  of  famine. 

Another  proof  of  economy,  but  of  economy  arising 
out  of  necessity,  is  found  in  their  use  of  fuel.  Wood 
for  fuel  largely  disappeared  from  China  centuries  ago. 
Unlike  the  people  of  India  and  Egypt,  they  seldom 
burn  buffalo  chips,  because  they  deem  such  material 
more  valuable  for  use  as  a fertilizer.  The  people  in 
places  gather  kaoliang  stalks,  also  immense  quanti- 
ties of  reeds  which  grow  along  the  river  banks,  while 
the  children  rake  up  straw,  tufts  of  grass,  sweet  potato 
vines  and  leaves  and  carry  them  home  to  be  used  for 
fuel.  Reeds  are  frequently  used  for  mats  for  the  doors 
of  houses  and  for  the  floor ; the  rice  straw  is  used  for 
thatch  roofing,  and  for  shoes  for  men  and  cattle.  The 
kaoliang  stalks  are  used  for  fences,  for  the  sides  of 
houses,  and  often  for  the  first  layer  of  thatched  roofs. 
Hence  only  the  remnants  of  vegetable  matter  are  used 
for  fuel.  It  would  seem  impossible  with  so  limited  a 


52 


CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


supply  of  swiftly  burning  fuel  for  Americans  to  live 
through  a single  winter.  The  Chinese  withstand  the 
cold  by  putting  on  more  clothing.  In  order  to  make 
the  small  supply  of  fuel  last,  Chinese  cooking  pots  and 
kettles,  whether  of  pottery  or  of  wrought  iron,  are  very 
thin ; and  water  boils  very  soon  after  a fire  is  kindled. 
Again,  where  aged  people  must  have  a fire  for  warmth 
it  is  customary  to  use  beneath  one’s  coat  a bamboo  fire 
basket  with  an  earthenware  bottom.  A little  charcoal 
placed  in  the  basket,  lighted  and  then  half  smothered 
under  ashes  will  keep  one  warm  several  hours. 
Surely,  a people  capable  of  such  economies  and  such 
self-denial,  a people  who  are  not  afraid  of  beginning 
at  the  bottom  of  any  business,  who  often  work  their 
way  to  the  top,  a people  whose  traders  frequently 
manufacture  their  goods  in  the  intervals  of  barter,  will 
drive  even  the  Jew  out  of  business  in  any  land  on  earth. 

4.  Intelligence.  The  chief  means  by  which  the 
industrial  capacity  of  China  will  be  increased  is  scien- 
tific knowledge.  The  hasty  Western  visitor,  however, 
entirely  overestimates  the  amount  which  the  Chinese 
will  learn  from  Western  nations  and  the  changes  des- 
tined to  be  made  in  China  by  scientific  agriculture  and 
the  introduction  of  Western  machinery.  The  small 
size  of  their  holdings  which  leads  to  thorough  cultiva- 
tion, and  especially  the  reduction  of  large  portions  of 
the  cultivated  lands  to  water  levels  by  terracing,  render 
impracticable  the  importation  of  steam  gang-plows, 
reapers,  mowers,  etc.,  save  perhaps  in  Manchuria. 
Nevertheless,  the  Chinese  will  make  through  Western 
science  some  marked  gains  in  farming.  Perhaps  the 
greatest  single  gain  will  be  scientific  selection  of  seeds 


INDUSTRIAL  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


53 


and  a scientific  improvement  of  fruits  and  grains  after 
the  method  which  Dr.  Burbank  is  now  introducing  in 
the  United  States.  Great  improvement  in  domestic 
animals  will  follow  scientific  breeding.  The  Japanese 
have  nearly  doubled  the  size  of  eggs  by  scientific  breed- 
ing of  fowls.  Almost  half  the  farms  in  Germany  are 
less  than  two  and  a half  acres  in  size;  by  scientific 
farming  and  the  importation  of  nitrates  the  German 
wheatfields  yield  forty  bushels  per  acre,  as  compared 
with  some  twenty-five  bushels  per  acre  for  Chinese 
wheat  lands.  The  Chinese  will  learn  valuable  lessons 
in  agriculture  and  afforestation.  Already  Japan  has 
learned  this  latter  lesson.  The  English  at  Hongkong 
and  the  Germans  at  Kiaochow  have  shown  China  the 
possibility  of  turning  their  barren  hills  into  productive 
forests.  Already  the  Chinese  are  awaking  to  this 
need.^^  Afforestation  will  not  only  furnish  the  people 
a large  supply  of  timber  for  economic  use  but  a large 
supply  for  fuel.  Moreover,  forests  will  tend  to  modify 
the  temperature,  to  regulate  the  rainfall,  and  espe- 
cially to  hold  back  the  water  so  as  to  prevent  the  wash- 
ing away  of  the  soil  from  the  hills  and  to  furnish  mois- 
ture for  the  crops  for  a longer  period.  The  governor 
of  the  Kiangsu  Province  has  shown  his  interest  in  such 
improvements  by  granting  to  the  University  of  Nan- 
king some  thousands  of  acres  of  hill  and  mountain 
lands  for  fruit-growing  and  afforestation.  But  any- 
one who  will  spend  a summer  among  the  farmers  in  a 
hilly  region  and  learn  what  use  the  Chinese  make  of 
the  smaller  hills  for  farming  by  terracing  and  for 
pasture  and  woodland  will  recognize  that  far  less  of 


‘•See  China  Year  Book,  1914.  p.  48. 


54 


CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


the  land  of  China  is  running  to  waste  than  he  formerly 
supposed.  In  Manchuria,  Chihli,  Fukien,  Kiangsi, 
and  Kiangsu  some  afforestation  is  in  progress,  strips 
of  woodland  upon  the  mountains  being  allowed  to 
grow  for  eight,  ten,  or  fifteen  years  before  being  cut. 
Considering  the  necessities  of  the  people  and  the  fact 
that  women  and  children  cut  and  carry  on  their  backs 
this  fuel,  instead  of  keeping  animals  to  haul  their  wood 
for  them,  no  such  widespread  and  long-continued 
afforestation  will  take  place  as  theorists  advocate. 
Nevertheless,  China  will  profit  greatly  by  scientific 
afforestation,  and  will  sustain  a considerable  increase 
of  population  through  scientific  agriculture. 

Scientific  knowledge  also  is  needed  in  the  matter  of 
irrigation,  and  especially  in  the  control  of  surplus 
water  in  times  of  great  rainfall.  This  is  the  most 
serious  problem  which  confronts  agricultural  China. 
The  American  engineers  now  superintending  the 
Hwai  River  Conservancy  have  valuable  lessons  to  im- 
part to  the  Chinese  in  the  way  of  storage  and  care  of 
surplus  water.  But  the  people  are  not  ignorant  of  the 
principles  underlying  the  reclamation  of  lowlands  from 
frequent  overflow.  In  B.  C.  7 a commission  of  experts 
was  invited  to  report  on  the  Yellow  River.  Kia-jang 
reports  for  the  Commission ; ( i ) to  lead  the  water  to 
the  sea  by  dredging  is  the  superior  plan;  (2)  to  dis- 
tribute the  water  by  canals  is  the  medium  plan;  (3) 
to  build  up  the  banks  of  the  river  is  the  poorest  plan.“® 
Eor  some  two  thousand  years  they  have  had  the  motto 
engraved  upon  stones  near  the  sources  of  the  Min 
River  in  Szechwan:  “Dig  deep  the  ditch,  keep  low  the 


“ Faber,  Ernst;  Chronological  Handbook  of  the  History  of  China,  p.  49. 


INDUSTRIAL  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


55 


dikes.”  Blit  the  third  plan  has  been  followed  so  fully 
that  the  Yellow  River  seldom  has  cut  or  worn  a 
channel  for  itself  below  the  level  of  the  surrounding 
soil,  but,  rather,  has  flowed  on  top  of  the  land  between 
artificial  banks.  Their  difficulty  at  this  point  arises 
from  the  size  and  the  remarkable  rise  of  their  rivers. 
Little^*  reports  that  the  Thames  at  London,  forty  miles 
from  its  mouth,  brings  down  2,000,000  cubic  feet 
of  soil  per  annum,  and  that  the  Yangtze  at  Hankow, 
six  hundred  miles  from  its  mouth,  brings  down  five 
billion  cubic  feet  of  soil  per  annum.  In  a word,  it 
would  require  as  much  work  to  dredge  the  Yangtze 
River  at  Hankow  as  to  dredge  two  thousand  five 
hundred  rivers  the  size  of  the  Thames  at  London. 
Indeed,  at  its  mouth  the  Chinese  have  in  the  Yangtze 
a river  some  ten  to  thirty  feet  in  depth,  and  forty  to 
sixty  miles  in  width,  moving  with  exceeding  slowness, 
so  that  immense  amounts  of  silt  are  deposited.  Not 
only  does  the  Yangtze  at  Hankow  bring  down  two 
thousand  five  hundred  times  the  silt  of  the  Thames 
at  London,  but  the  Yangtze  is  fifteen  times  the  length 
of  the  Thames.  Again,  the  Yellow  River  especially 
as  it  flows  through  a loess  formation  where  the  soil 
crumbles  into  the  river  on  the  slightest  provocation, 
furnishes  a more  difficult  problem  to  control  than  the 
Mississippi.  Engineers  realize  that  the  difficulty  in 
permanent  control  of  a river  flowing  through  alluvial 
land  is  the  constant  deposit  of  silt  when  the  water  is 
slack,  thus  slowly  building  up  the  bed  of  the  river,  leav- 
ing insufficient  depth  to  hold  the  water  during  seasons 
of  floods.  To  overcome  this  difficulty,  the  farmers 


“ Little,  Archibald:  The  Far  East,  p.  59. 


56  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

along  such  large  rivers  as  the  Mississippi,  the  Yellow, 
and  the  Yangtze,  instead  of  dredging  the  entire  river 
bottom,  build  up  the  banks  of  the  river.  Thus  the  con- 
tinual rise  of  the  bottom  of  the  river  through  the  set- 
tling of  the  silt  and  the  building  up  of  the  banks  for 
centuries  results  in  raising  the  bottom  of  the  river 
above  the  level  of  the  surrounding  country.  Indeed, 
the  Yellow  River  brings  down  so  much  soil  that  its  bed 
has  been  repeatedly  filled  up  as  the  farmers  have  raised 
the  banks,  and  the  river  in  times  of  floods  often  breaks 
through  these  banks ; the  river  is  now  running  into  the 
Pacific  Ocean  six  hundred  miles  ' north  of  its  old 
mouth.  Despite  the  skill  of  American  engineers,  and 
despite  the  expenditure  of  over  one  hundred  million 
dollars  on  the  Mississippi,  the  people  living  along  that 
river  have  been  obliged  to  build  up  the  banks  instead 
of  dredging  out  the  river,  and  they  now  have  fifteen 
hundred  and  thirty-eight  miles  of  levees;  and  in  1913 
the  Mississippi  broke  its  levees,  destroying  millions  of 
dollars’  worth  of  property  and  rendering  tens  of  thou- 
sands homeless. 

Another  fact  should  be  borne  in  mind.  The  large 
mountain  area  lying  on  the  western  borders  of  China 
and  the  immense  amount  of  snow  which  accumulates 
there  during  the  winter,  melting  and  coming  down 
every  summer,  causes  an  annual  rise  in  the  Yangtze  at 
Chungking,  fifteen  hundred  miles  from  its  mouth, 
of  some  seventy  to  ninety  feet  each  summer.  The 
Yangtze  at  Chungking  has  risen  to  a height  of  one 
hundred  and  eight  feet  above  the  low  water  mark. 
Were  the  Mississippi  to  have  an  annual  rise  of  seventy 
feet  at  Saint  Paul  or  at  Keokuk,  what  engineering 


INDUSTRIAL  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


57 


skill  or  what  funds  expended  would  keep  that  stream 
within  its  banks  and  guide  it  safely  to  the  Gulf,  eight 
hundred  or  a thousand  miles  below  The  London 
Times  in  March,  1914,  reported  a rise  in  the  Thames 
of  “almost  five  feet,”  and  “much  damage  done.” 
Compare  this  rise  of  five  feet  with  a rise  of  seventy  to 
ninety  feet  at  Chungking,  or  even  of  thirty  feet  at 
Hankow.^^  The  Seine  and  the  Thames  are  rivulets  as 
compared  wth  the  Yangtze.  Yet  with  Western  engi- 
neering skill,  backed  by  the  wealth  of  England  and 
France,  both  the  Thames  and  Seine  overflowed  their 
banks  and  did  most  serious  damage  in  1914.  One 
shows  his  ignorance  of  the  forces  of  nature  who 
charges  the  losses  in  production  and  the  famines  occur- 
ring through  the  overflow  of  the  rivers  in  China 
wholly  to  the  ignorance  and  the  corruption  of  the 
Chinese,  though  the  Chinese  have  sinned  grievously 
through  corruption.  The  region  which  Colonel  Sibert 
and  his  colleagues  are  now  planning  to  drain  is,  ac- 
cording to  Shah  Kai-fu,  the  very  region  which  the 
great  Yu  is  reported  to  have  drained  after  nine  years’ 
labor,  more  than  two  thousand  years  before  Christ. 
Moreover,  Colonel  Sibert  finds  the  fall  of  the  Yangtze 
for  the  six  hundred  miles  from  Hankow  to  the  Pacific 
only  2.64  inches  per  mile,  with  the  water  running  up 
stream  when  the  tide  comes  in,  so  that  its  direct  drain- 
age is  an  almost  impossible  task.  We  believe  that  our 
W estern  engineers  will  afford  China  great  help  in  con- 
trolling her  rivers  and  reclaiming  her  lands  along 
their  banks.  But  such  aid  must  be  conducted  along 


“ Bashford,  James  W.:  Notes,  bk.  44.  p.  52. 

° The  London  Times,  weekly  edition,  March  13,  1914. 


58  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


the  lines  already  laid  down  by  the  Chinese : “Dig  deep 
the  ditch:  keep  low  the  dikes,”  and  especially  by  pro- 
viding canals  and  lakes  to  take  care  of  the  surplus 
waters  during  seasons  of  flood.  But  at  this  point  we 
must  remember  that,  in  addition  to  the  great  basins 
created  by  nature  for  the  reception  of  the  overflow  of 
the  Yangtze,  namely,  the  Tungting  and  Poyang  Lakes, 
the  Chinese  have  constructed  countless  ponds  and  also 
some  two  hundred  thousand  miles  of  creeks  and  canals 
for  taking  care  of  the  surplus  waters  in  times  of 
floods.^^  Faber^^  reports  that  under  imperial  orders 
issued  in  A.  D.  1394,  forty  thousand  nine  hundred  and 
eighty-seven  canals,  ditches,  and  ponds  were  con- 
structed to  hold  back  the  surplus  waters.  If  we  expect 
to  help  any  people  in  grappling  with  a problem,  we  at 
least  owe  it  to  them  to  recognize  how  serious  their 
problem  is,  and  how  great  the  patience,  the  industry, 
and  the  intelligence  shown  during  the  last  three  thou- 
sand years  in  building  canals,  ponds,  and  ditches,  not 
only  for  the  transportation  of  their  produce  and  for 
irrigation  purposes,  but  for  the  protection  of  their 
farms  during  periods  of  overflow.  Surely,  the  Chinese 
have  shown  much  intelligence  in  their  industrial  life 
as  a whole. 

5.  Adaptability  and  Cheerfulness.  But  more 
marvelous  than  their  intelligence  is  the  readiness  and 
the  cheerfulness  with  which  the  Chinese  adapt  them- 
selves to  their  environment.  Adaptability  is  with  the 
Chinese  an  inherited  virtue  essential  to  their  survival. 


King,  F.  II. : Farmers  of  Forty  Centuries,  p.  102. 

Faber,  Ernst:  Chronologieal  Handbook  of  the  History  of  China — see  date 

1394. 


INDUSTRIAL  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


59 


So  crowded  is  the  population  that  to  a far  j^reater 
extent  than  with  Western  peoples  it  is  a question  of 
adaptation  or  death.  But  it  is  one  thing  to  submit  to 
one’s  surroundings  from  necessity  and  quite  another 
so  to  triumph  over  these  surroundings  as  to  make  the 
adjustment  with  cheerfulness.  The  Chinese  working 
people  impress  foreigners  generally  as  the  most  cheer- 
ful people  they  have  ever  known.  In  no  other  land  do 
the  people  remain  so  good-natured  in  the  midst  of 
their  toils  and  hardships.  In  no  other  country  do  men 
accomplish  such  varied  and  remarkable  results  with 
such  simple  appliances.  An  American  cook  limited  to 
a Chinese  kitchen  outfit  could  not  be  induced  at  any 
price  to  attempt  to  prepare  a meal,  if  he  had  any  re- 
gard for  his  reputation.  A Chinese  cook  with  what 
appear  to  be  utterly  inadequate  facilities  will  produce 
a meal  that  would  make  the  American  cook  jealous 
for  his  reputation.  During  a recent  trip  in  a houseboat 
on  the  upper  reaches  of  the  Yangtze  the  Chinese 
cook  made  a stove  by  lining  a Standard  Oil  tin  with 
clay,  used  another  oil  tin  for  an  oven,  and  baked  bread 
that  would  make  a Vienna  baker  jealous.  A Chinese 
of  Singapore,  in  contempt  of  timid  excuses,  put  this 
sign  over  his  door : “Any  JMortal  Thing  Can  Do.”  No 
class  of  people  will  suffer  so  many  inconveniences,  will 
undertake  work  at  such  unseasonable  hours,  will  meet 
so  many  disappointments,  all  with  imperturbable  good 
nature,  as  will  Chinese  servants.  IMoreover,  a Chinese 
once  entering  service  will  very  seldom  leave  until  he 
finds  some  one  to  take  his  place.  This  is  due  in  part 
to  his  loyalty  to  his  employer,  and  in  part  to  that 
business  sagacity  which  leads  him  to  the  conviction 


6o 


CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


that  any  position  once  in  his  possession  should  always 
remain  in  the  possession  of  his  clan.  The  Chinese 
holds  as  tenaciously  to  any  position  which  he  once 
secures  as  an  American  to  public  office ; like  the  Amer- 
ican office-holder,  he  “seldom  dies,  and  never  resigns.” 
Probably  the  Chinese  first  learn  to  adapt  themselves 
to  their  environment  through  obedience.  There  is  very 
little  family  government,  yet  each  child  learns  from 
infancy  to  be  obedient  in  the  final  test.  Each  one  is 
taught  that  from  the  final  decision  of  the  grandfather 
or  father  there  is  seldom  any  appeal.  The  younger 
brother  is  taught  to  respect  the  authority  of  the  elder 
brother,  and  the  elder  brother  is  taught  to  take  the  re- 
sponsibility for  the  younger  brother.  As  children  grow 
toward  manhood,  despite  an  apparently  loose  family 
discipline,  they  become  imbued  with  a sense  of  family 
responsibility  which  an  American  often  lacks.  As  a 
result  the  entire  family  or  clan  is  back  of  each  indi- 
vidual in  his  struggle  for  a living.  A foreign  com- 
petitor might  easily  hold  his  own  against  an  individual 
Chinaman,  but  he  must  pit  his  shrewdness  and  ability 
against  the  intelligence  and  activity  of  the  whole  clan. 
Probably  the  Chinese  surpass  all  other  people  in  their 
ability  to  adapt  themselves  to  conditions  and  to  those 
with  whom  they  are  called  to  live.  No  Western  folk 
begin  family  life  as  two  young  Chinese  enter  upon  it : 
usually  betrothed  in  childhood  with  no  consultation  of 
their  wishes,  with  little  regard  paid  later  to  their  dis- 
positions, and  frequently  almost  strangers  upon  their 
marriage ; yet  these  two  young  Chinese  often  get  along 
with  less  friction  than  is  displayed  by  some  married 
couples  in  Western  lands.  Christian  marriage  in 


TXDUSTRTAT.  LIFE  TN  CHINA 


61 

Europe  and  America  unquestionably  is  his/her  and  the 
Christian  home  purer  than  is  the  usual  family  life  in 
China.  Chinese  young  married  women  have  a harder 
experience  in  their  family  life  than  do  European  or 
American  wives.  But  as  children  enter  the  home  the 
Chinese  wife  and  mother  receives  increasing  respect, 
and  old  people  in  China  are  treated  with  more  rever- 
ence than  is  usually  shown  in  America  or  in  Europe. 
Chinese  home  life,  as  a whole,  affords  striking  proof 
of  the  adaptability  of  this  people. 

But  the  Chinese  adapt  themselves  not  only  to  each 
other  but  also  to  foreigners,  and  to  nature.  Adapta- 
tion to  environment  is  a high  art  among  them.  It  en- 
ables them  to  triumph  alike  in  the  cold  of  Siberia  and 
in  the  heat  of  the  tropics.  One  of  Russia’s  purposes  in 
building  the  Trans-Siberian  Railway  was  to  enable 
Russian  emigration  to  flow  peaceably  to  the  Pacific. 
On  the  contrary,  it  is  serving  as  a means  by  which 
Chinese  emigration  is  flowing  peaceably  toward  Rus- 
sia. During  a journey  from  Peking  to  London  over 
this  railway  with  a Chinese  fellow  passenger  in  1908, 
Chinese  were  met  at  almost  every  station  for  some 
3,000  miles  from  Vladivostock.  At  Obi,  3,200  miles 
west  from  Vladivostock  and  2,200  miles  east  of  Mos- 
cow, the  last  Chinese  immigrant  was  seen.  Indeed,  the 
Russian  government  has  found  it  necessary  to  restrict 
the  flow  of  Chinese  immigration  into  Russia  by  legisla- 
tion. So  much  for  their  adaptation  to  the  cold  of  the 
north. 

Sir  Frank  Swettenham,  in  his  Federated  Malay 
States,  attributes  the  great  prosperity  of  that  part  of 
the  British  Dominion,  first,  to  natural  resources;  sec- 


62 


CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


ond,  to  the  Chinese ; third,  to  the  British  government ; 
and,  fourth,  to  the  introduction  of  foreign  capital  and 
inventions : thus  putting  the  Chinese  next  to  nature  as 
one  of  the  bases  of  the  success  of  that  colony.  With 
such  manifestation  of  adaptability,  combined  with 
cheerfulness,  W estern  nations  must  needs  reckon  with 
the  Chinese  in  determining  what  nation,  what  race, 
and  what  civilization,  will  become  dominant  in  the 
Pacific  Basin. 

6.  Power  of  Combination.  The  fifth  great  prob- 
lem which  confronts  a nation  in  production  lies  beyond 
physical  stamina,  beyond  industry,  beyond  economy, 
beyond  even  the  intelligence  of  individual  workers.  Its 
solution  demands  united  effort;  united  effort  is  im- 
possible without  combinations,  and  successful  and  last- 
ing combinations  of  industry  are  impossible  without 
trustworthiness  and  mutual  trust.  Only  a union  of 
these  two  qualities  by  nations  will  prevent  interna- 
tional betrayals  and  banish  war.  Only  the  combina- 
tion of  these  two  qualities  by  individuals  will  prevent 
betrayals  in  business  and  make  possible  the  largest  in- 
dustrial success.  It  has  been  said  of  the  Chinese  in  the 
field  of  production  that  they  do  not  know  how  to  com- 
bine so  as  to  utilize  their  capital  and  their  strength  for 
overcoming  the  forces  of  nature,  and  for  securing  the 
largest  returns  from  industry.  The  fault  in  Chinese 
industrial  life  is  a real  one.  The  people  find  great  diffi- 
culty in  forming  large  companies  for  industrial  enter- 
prises, and  at  present  they  often  seek  foreign  coopera- 
tion and  leadership  in  such  operations.  Plowever,  the 
difficulty  is  not  due  to  lack  of  ability  upon  the  part  of 
the  Chinese  to  form  combinations,  but,  rather,  to  the 


INDUSTRIAL  LIFE  IN  CHINA  63 

lack  of  trustworthiness  and  mutual  trustfulness,  which 
are  the  product  of  a comparatively  advanced  Christian 
stage  of  civilization.  All  Chinese  history  illustrates 
the  capacity  of  this  people  to  form  all  sorts  of  combina- 
tions. As  an  indication  not  only  of  the  power  of  the 
Chinese  to  combine,  but  also  of  their  willingness  in  one 
instance  to  trust  each  other,  and  of  their  ability  in 
leadership,  we  mention  the  Peking-Kalgan  Railway, 
built  wholly  with  Chinese  capital,  by  a Chinese  com- 
pany, under  a Chinese  engineer,  by  Chinese  workmen, 
involving  greater  engineering  difficulties  than  any 
other  railway  thus  far  built  in  China,  and  yet  costing 
only  from  $30,000  to  $35,000  per  mile — a lower  cost 
than  any  railway  ever  built  in  China  by  a foreign  cor- 
poration. 

A careful  study  of  the  Chinese  will  show  that  there 
exists  in  their  small  “hweis,”  or  unions,  and  in  their 
gilds  a far  older  and  possibly  a wiser  method  of  co- 
operation than  Western  nations  have  reached  through 
trusts  and  labor  unions.  Everyone  in  China  is  eager 
to  organize  a union,  and  every  Chinese  boy  or  girl 
aspires  to  enter  such  a union.  A person  wishing  to 
provide  for  a marriage  or  to  start  in  some  simple  busi- 
ness, may  form  a union.  Each  member  agrees  to  fur- 
nish to  the  party  forming  the  union  a small  sum  of 
money  to  enable  this  person  to  provide  for  the  oppor- 
tunity or  to  enter  upon  the  trade  or  industry  con- 
templated. Often  the  money  is  advanced  without  in- 
terest, the  persons  receiving  the  first  advance  of  the 
money  continuing  in  the  union  until  each  person  in  the 
union  has  received  an  equal  benefit.  Of  course  it  is 
impossible  to  form  such  a union  except  among  a group 


64  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


of  persons  who  know  and  trust  each  other;  and  such 
unions  in  most  cases  are  carried  through  in  good  faith. 
In  this  way  not  only  is  each  one  helped  to  enter  upon 
some  investment,  impossible  without  the  aid  of  others, 
but  the  resolution  of  each  to  deny  himself  and  meet  his 
engagements  is  greatly  strengthened  by  the  group 
spirit.  These  small  voluntary  unions  are  almost  in- 
numerable in  China.^°  Again,  the  laboring  classes, 
whatever  their  employment,  all  band  together  on  the 
slightest  pretext.^^ 

But  a far  larger  and  more  important  development  of 
the  cooperative  spirit  is  found  in  the  Chinese  gilds. 
All  Chinese  industries  save  farming  are  organized  into 
gilds.  There  are  the  silk  gild,  the  bankers’  gild,  the 
piece-goods  gild,  the  goldbeaters’  gild,  the  wheelbar- 
row gild,  and  even  the  beggars’  gild  and  the  thieves’ 
gild ! In  the  United  States  the  churches,  schools,  and 
courthouses  are  the  most  conspicuous  buildings  in 
town  or  city : in  China  the  gild  halls,  thus  showing  that 
commerce  and  industry  occupy  the  position  of  chief  im- 
portance. Trading  gilds  were  active  B.  C.  1 122-221.^” 
Marco  Polo’s  report  about  A.  D.  1275  of  the  gilds  of 
the  city  now  called  Hangchow  shows  that  practically 
the  entire  population  was  organized  into  gilds,  and 
probably  members  outside  of  the  city  were  included, 
for  the  report  shows  over  one  and  a half  million  mem- 
bers.^® Each  gild  has  a president  and  an  executive 
committee  elected  yearly  and  eligible  to  reelection,  and 

2"  Wemer,  E.  T.  C.:  Descriptive  Sociology  of  the  Chinese,  Table  IX,  col.  2; 
compare  S.  Wells  Williams's  The  Middle  Kingdom,  vol.  ii,  pp.  87,  88. 

” Jernigan,  T.  R.:  China  in  Law  and  Commerce,  p.  214. 

**  Werner,  E.  T.  C. : Descriptive  Sociology  of  the  Chinese,  Table  II,  col.  2. 

Ibid.,  Table  VI,  col.  2;  compare  p.  18,  col.  3;  compare  also  Yule’s  Marco 
Polo,  vol.  ii,  p.  146. 


INDUSTRIAL  LIFE  IN  CHINA  65 

a secretary  who  is  a scholar  with  a degree  from  the 
government  but  without  official  government  position. 
Hence  he  becomes  a semi-official  representative  of  the 
government,  or,  better  still,  a representative  of  the  gild 
upon  the  one  side  and  of  the  rights  of  the  government 
upon  the  other — a striking  illustration  of  the  mediator 
of  whom  more  will  be  said  later.  In  almost  all  cases 
the  secretary  serves  as  the  lawyer  of  the  gild.  Theo- 
retically, all  gild  matters  are  brought  before  the 
whole  body  for  discussion.  Practically,  a matter  is 
usually  brought  before  the  leaders  of  the  gild,  dis- 
cussed and  modified,  and  if  they  think  it  has  a reason- 
able prospect  of  passing,  the  measure  is  then  presented 
to  the  entire  body : otherwise  it  often  dies  in  the  com- 
mittee stage.  The  democratic  management  of  indus- 
trial and  commercial  affairs  through  the  gilds,  and  the 
democratic  origin  of  industrial  and  commercial  law, 
furnish  the  historic  and  economic  basis  for  the  demo- 
cratic character  of  Chinese  civilization.  Indeed,  so 
firmly  is  the  authority  of  the  gild  established  in  settling 
commercial  and  industrial  disputes  that  the  govern- 
ment recognizes  gild  rules  in  all  trials,  giving  them  the 
rank  of  statute  laws.  Thus  the  gilds  control  not  only 
the  larger  amount  of  industrial  and  commercial  busi- 
ness in  the  nation,  but  shape  and  determine  the  com- 
mercial law  of  China;  they  settle  quarrels  between 
their  members  and  usually  controversies  arising  be- 
tween themselves  anjd  neighboring  gilds.  In  addition 
the  gilds,  in  common,  promulgate  the  dates  for  settling 
accounts,  the  rate  of  interest,  the  rate  of  exchange,  etc. 
In  some  cities  they  have  organized  a fire  department 
and  a water  service.  In  a word,  in  China  the  gilds  or 


66 


CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


voluntary  organizations,  combined  through  their  chief 
representatives,  frequently  discharge  the  functions  of 
a Board  of  Trade,  a City  Council,  a Board  of  Chari- 
ties, and  a Board  of  Arbitration — all  with  semiofficial 
powers. 

The  gilds  of  China  probably  are  wiser  and  saner  in 
their  management  than  the  gilds  of  India.  We  do  not 
know  the  people  of  India  well  enough  to  form  a final 
judgment  upon  the  subject.  But  our  slight  knowledge 
of  them  leads  us  to  characterize  the  Indians  as  the 
Frenchmen  and  the  Chinese  as  the  Anglo-Saxons  of 
the  Orient.  The  Indians  are  more  purely  intellectual 
and  logical  and  are  more  interested  in  philosophical 
conceptions  than  are  the  Chinese.  They  carry  concep- 
tions and  constitutions  and  the  management  of  affairs 
to  their  logical  conclusions;  and  the  Indian  gilds  re- 
strict their  membership  to  the  sons  of  the  men  in  the 
trade  generation  after  generation,  and  this  became  the 
economic  basis  of  the  caste  system  which  so  largely 
prevails  in  India.  The  Chinese  are  more  practical  and 
are  guided  more  fully  by  experience ; and  through  ex- 
perience they  have  come  to  accept  almost  instinctively 
the  Doctrine  of  the  Mean,  that  is,  that  truth  and  prac- 
tical wisdom  lie  in  the  middle  path  equally  removed 
from  the  extreme  at  either  side.  Hence  the  gild  rules 
of  China,  like  the  unwritten  constitution  of  England, 
furnish  constant  illustrations  of  give-and-take  in  poli- 
tics and  business.  They  constitute  a system  of  suc^ 
cessful  compromises  rather  than  a logical  system  of 
gild  government.  The  Chinese  gilds  have  never  gone 
to  the  extreme  of  the  Indian  gilds,  though  trades  con- 
tinued to  be  inherited  in  the  Ming  dynasty,  1368- 


INDUSTRIAL  LIFE  IN  CHINA  67 

1644;®"  and  sons  even  to  this  day  usually  enter  the 
father’s  business.  Hence,  while  Chinese  guilds  furnish 
many  illustrations  of  devotion  to  their  own  members 
and  of  group  selfishness,  nevertheless  they  have  never 
gone  to  the  extent  of  hardening  into  castes.  Evidently 
the  trusts  in  the  United  States  do  not  need  any  further 
lessons  in  organization  for  securing  the  greatest  ad- 
vantages for  their  members,  though  they  need  many 
lessons  in  breadth  of  view — “No  man  liveth  unto  him- 
self.” But  the  labor  unions  of  the  United  States  might 
profit  greatly  by  sending  a representative  to  China  to 
gather  the  constitutions  of  the  Chinese  gilds,  and  to 
make  on  the  ground  a thorough  study  of  their  practical 
management  for  the  larger  and  better  organization  of 
the  industrial  forces  of  the  Western  world. 

No  account  of  Chinese  gilds  or  of  Chinese  industrial 
life  would  be  complete  which  did  not  recognize  that 
despite  all  gilds  there  is  a far  greater  distrust  of  one 
another  among  business  men  in  China  than  prevails  in 
Great  Britain,  France,  Germany,  or  the  United  States. 
So  great  is  this  distrust  that  some  foreigners  have  been 
led  to  suppose  that  there  exists  among  the  Chinese  an 
incapacity  for  business  combinations — a disability 
which  will  greatly  impede  the  formation  of  corpora- 
tions and  the  successful  realization  of  the  marvelous 
industrial  possibilities  of  China.  Indeed,  some  stu- 
dents of  China  think  this  mutual  distrust  so  deep  that 
it  will  hinder  the  successful  organization  of  a govern- 
ment of  the  people,  for  the  people,  and  by  the  people. 
It  is  well  known  that  old  and  well-established  banks 
and  business  firms  in  China  are  generally  limited  in 


* Werner,  E.  T.  C.:  Descriptive  Sociology  of  the  Chinese,  Table  VIII,  col.  2. 


68 


CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


their  membership  to  the  family  or  clan,  resembling  in 
this  respect  the  Rothschilds  of  Europe,  On  the  other 
hand,  those  who  have  resided  longest  in  China  and  are 
most  familiar  with  the  inner  life  of  the  Chinese  recog- 
nize a great  capacity  for  organization  upon  their  part. 
They  have  lived  in  such  close  contact  for  centuries  that 
they  display  an  almost  instinctive  capacity  to  get  along 
with  one  another.  They  know  how  to  give  and  take, 
to  bargain  in  business,  to  compromise  in  politics,  and 
to  adjust  difficulties  in  the  home,  all  of  which  make 
them  past  masters  in  the  art  of  combination. 

What,  then,  is  the  cause  of  the  deep  distrust  which 
often  makes  a foreigner  necessary  to  the  success  of  a 
large  commercial  enterprise,  and  foreign  advisers 
necessary  in  political  affairs  ? In  a word,  it  is  pagan- 
ism. Surely,  business  in  Europe  and  America  is  far 
from  being  regenerate,  much  less  sanctified.  But  nine- 
teen centuries  of  Christian  teaching  and  practice  have 
had  a profounder  influence  upon  politics  and  business 
than  anyone  can  realize  without  a comparative  study 
of  these  subjects  in  our  Christianized  countries  and 
in  non-Christian  lands.  It  is  just  this  lack  of 
individual  trustworthiness  on  the  one  side,  and  of 
trustfulness  on  the  other  among  non-Christian  peoples 
which  has  led  to  the  large  development  of  gilds  in 
China;  which  in  India  has  restricted  even  gild  mem- 
bership to  the  clan  or  family  until  gilds  have  hardened 
into  castes.  But  neither  the  closeness  of  gild  organiza- 
tion nor  of  castes  avails  to  develop  on  the  one  side  that 
inherent  honesty  which  deserves  confidence  and  on  the 
other  side  that  faith  which  is  willing  to  trust  a brother. 
But  does  not  the  business  and  commercial  growth  of 


INDUSTRIAL  LIFE  IN  CHINA  69 

Japan  overthrow  this  explanation?  On  the  contrary, 
we  are  inclined  to  think  that  the  recent  financial  history 
of  Japan  will  confirm  this  view.  The  Japanese  govern- 
ment has  found  it  necessary  largely  to  assume  control 
of  the  great  business  interests  of  that  nation.  The 
railways,  the  banks,  shipbuilding,  and  some  of  the 
chief  manufacturing  interests  are  in  the  hands  of  the 
government,  and  all  the  other  industries  are  carefully 
supervised  by  her.  This  is  a clear  proof  that  the  Jap- 
anese government  thinks  that  the  people  are  not  yet 
ready  to  manage  successfully  their  own  business.  Sec- 
ond, some  Christian  missionaries  in  Japan  maintain 
that  the  Japanese  people  as  a whole  and  in  the  persons 
of  their  leaders  are  essentially  Christian,  and  especially 
that  the  Japanese  government  in  managing  her  po- 
litical and  business  afifairs  shows  as  Christian  a spirit 
as  Germany,  the  United  States,  or  Great  Britain.  The 
patriotism  which  the  Japanese  have  learned  and  prac- 
ticed in  recent  years  is  a Christian  virtue,  though  an 
incomplete  Christian  virtue.  Other  residents  in  Japan 
hold  that  the  government  is  pagan  and  deny  that  it  is 
managing  the  people’s  affairs  successfully.  The  gov- 
ernment’s power  of  taxation  is  such  that  she  may  fol- 
low a false  business  system  for  years  if  not  for  decades, 
before  failure.  Chapter  XVI  shows  that  the  success 
of  Japan’s  governmental  finance  is  not  yet  assured. 
The  Hon.  S.  Ebara,  a leading  Japanese  statesman, 
wrote  recently:  “The  greatest  need  of  Japan  is  said  to 
be  economic  development.  But  the  basis  of  economic 
development  is  confidence,  and  confidence  will  only 
come  as  the  fruit  of  moral  and  religious  education, 
based  upon  Christianity.  Our  need  is  Christian  char- 


70 


CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


acter.”®^  Whatever  theoretical  views  one  may  hold  of 
Christianity,  there  is  a difference  between  even  semi- 
Christian  business  methods  and  pagan  business  meth- 
ods which  has  much  to  do  with  industrial  and  com- 
mercial success.  A long  study  of  this  problem  leads  us 
to  the  conviction  that  the  real  and  final  cause  of  the 
lack  of  large  and  successful  business  organizations  in 
China  is  moral  and  religious. 

We  are  aware  that  hasty  travelers  have  spoken  of 
the  greater  reliability  of  Chinese  bank  cashiers  than 
of  American  bank  cashiers,  and  especially  of  Japanese 
bank  cashiers.  But  a more  intimate  knowledge  of  the 
subject  shows  that  the  Bankers’  Gild  in  guaranteeing 
the  reliability  of  a cashier  whom  it  nominates  does  not 
depend  upon  the  inherent  trustworthiness  of  Chinese 
cashiers.  The  Shansi  Bankers’  Gild  in  case  of  any 
defalcation  makes  good  the  loss.  But  the  fact  that  the 
entire  family  or  clan  of  the  defaulter  is,  under  Chinese 
law  and  custom,  responsible  for  his  peculations  and 
liable  to  suffer  both  financially  and  physically  for  the 
absconding  cashier,  and  that  the  gild  will  trace  the 
absconder  to  the  ends  of  the  earth  and  take  his  life, 
lets  every  cashier  know  that  other  methods  of  redress 
are  at  hand  in  case  honor  fails.  If  no  man  could  secure 
a cashier’s  position  in  America  until  a family,  strong 
enough  to  make  good  his  loss,  would  guarantee  his 
honesty,  and  if  he  then  held  his  position  with  the 
knowledge  that  if  he  became  a defaulter  his  family 
would  be  compelled  to  make  good  the  loss  and  he  would 
be  followed  to  the  ends  of  the  earth,  not  for  trial  but 
for  assassination,  defaulting  would  be  a rare  crime  in 


« Loomis,  H.:  Christian  Progress  in  Japan,  pp.  1-2. 


INDUSTRIAL  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


71 


American  banks.  If  one  considers  only  the  economic 
interests  of  China,  the  conviction  is  expressed  that 
these  interests  can  never  reach  their  larg^est  develop- 
ment upon  a non-Christian  system  of  ethics.  They  can 
never  realize  their  possibilities  even  with  a sentimental 
type  of  Christianity  which  ig'nores  the  holiness  of  God 
and  proclaims  a love  robbed  of  its  integral  element  of 
justice.  But  wherever  men  believe  in  a righteous  and 
holy  God  who  will  bring  all  men  to  judgment,  each  to 
give  an  account  for  the  deeds  done  in  the  body,  and 
wherever  men  experience  a regeneration  which  leads 
them  to  love  righteousness  and  to  hate  iniquity,  and  to 
live,  not  by  temporal,  but  by  eternal  standards,  they 
will  develop  those  fundamental  elements  of  moral 
character  upon  which  all  high  and  lasting  success  de- 
pends. If  the  Chinese  gain  the  industrial  strength 
which  Christianity  will  bring  them,  if  they  introduce 
our  applied  sciences  and  develop  their  coal  and  iron 
industries,  especially  if  they  introduce  modern  western 
inventions  and  transform  the  nation  from  hand  manu- 
facturing to  machine  manufacturing,  maintain  their 
normal  rate  of  growth  and  flow  over  into  IMalaysia 
and  develop  her  tropical  possibilities,  they  will  become 
a serious  factor  in  the  modern  world.  This  subject 
will  be  discussed  more  fully  in  Chapter  XVIII  on 
“China  and  the  W'orld.” 

BOOKS  FOR  REFERENCE 
Ball,  J.  Dyer;  The  Chinese  at  Home.  E.  Bretschneider, 
M.D. : Botanicon  Sinicum  (3  Vols.)  ; On  the  Study  and  Value 
of  Chinese  Botanical  Works;  China  Review;  China  Year 
Book,  1914.  Candolle,  Alphonse  L.  P.  de:  Origin  of  Culti- 
vated Plants.  Encyclopaedia  Britannica.  Faber,  Ernst : Chrono- 


72 


CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


logical  Handbook  of  the  History  of  China.  Goucher,  J.  F. : 
Growth  of  the  Missionary  Concept,  Ingram,  John  K. : History 
of  Slavery.  Hirth,  F.,  and  Rockhill,  W.  W. : Translation  of 
Chau  Ju-Kua.  Jernigan,  T.  R. : China  in  Law  and  Commerce. 
King,  F,  H. : Farmers  of  Forty  Centuries.  Legge,  James: 
Edition  of  Chinese  Classics.  Loomis,  H. : Christian  Progress 
in  Japan.  Meadows,  Thomas  T, : The  Chinese  and  Their 
Rebellions.  Morse,  H.  G. : Chinese  Gilds.  Smith,  Arthur: 
Chinese  Characteristics;  The  Uplift  of  China.  Werner, 
E.  T.  C. : Descriptive  Sociology  of  the  Chinese.  Williams, 
S.  Wells:  The  Middle  Kingdom  (2  Vols.). 


CHAPTER  III 

COMMERCIAL  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


A BRIEF  historical  review  of  the  commerce  of  China 
drawn  largely  from  Werner’s  valuable  volume  will 
furnish  a suitable  introduction  to  the  study  of  the  com- 
mercial life  of  the  nation.  The  historical  records  of 
China  back  to  B,  C.  776  are  unquestioned;  and  back 
to  B.  C.  1766  much  of  the  data  are  so  specific  and  relate 
to  such  common  affairs  that  they  are  doubtless 
authentic,  though  mingled  with  legend;  from  B.  C. 
2750  to  1766  the  records  are  largely  legendary  with 
some  historical  data. 

In  the  Hsia  and  Shang  dynasties,  B.  C.  2205-1122, 
exchanges  are  said  to  have  taken  place  at  wells  where 
the  people  came  for  water,  and  at  fairs  established  in 
front  of  temples  at  seasons  of  worship.  There  was 
transportation  of  produce  from  one  region  to  another 
in  those  early  ages.  Chariots  are  mentioned  as  used 
by  the  first  emperor  of  the  Hsia  dynasty,  B.  C.  2205. 
In  the  Shang  dynasty,  B.  C.  1766-1122,  horses  are 
mentioned  as  drawing  chariots  or  carts. 

In  the  Hsia  and  Shang  d}masties,  B.  C.  2205-1122, 
exchanges  were  made  by  barter.  A little  later  shells 
were  used  as  a medium  of  exchange.  Cash  are  said 
to  have  originated  B.  C.  1114-1079.^  Faber  says,  “A 
mint  was  established  B.  C.  1103  and  round  coins  with 


* Wemer,  E.  T.  C.:  Descriptive  Sociology  of  the  Chinese,  Table  I,  col.  26. 

73 


74  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

a square  hole  in  the  center  for  stringing  on  a cord  were 
cast.”^  The  value  of  the  “cash”  varies  at  different 
places  and  times,  but  is  now  approximately  the  twen- 
tieth part  of  a cent  or  a fortieth  of  a penny.  It  is  ex- 
ceedingly cumbersome  money,  one  gold  dollar’s  worth 
weighing  from  ten  to  sixteen  pounds  according  to  the 
rate  of  exchange.  But  cash  are  of  great  value  to  the 
Chinese  for  close  bargaining  and  small  exchanges. 
Unminted  silver  has  been  in  use  for  over  four  thou- 
sand years.  It  is  used  to-day  in  western  China  in  the 
form  of  sycee,  or  “shoes.”  Some  two  hundred  years 
before  the  time  of  Christ  pieces  of  linen  two  feet  long 
having  stamped  upon  them  a bond  or  promise  to  pay 
a certain  amount  of  money  were  used  as  currency. 
This  is  the  beginning  in  China  of  the  use  of  paper 
money;  though  these  were  promissory  notes  rather 
than  bank  bills. 

The  earliest  record  of  foreign  trade  is  about  R.  C. 
23CX).^  “There  is  no  genuine  record  of  the  use  of  the 
marine  compass  by  the  Chinese  before  A.  D.  1297,^ 
though  Werner  gives  the  earliest  date  of  the  known 
use  of  it  at  A.  D.  1 122.* *^  Hence  all  claims  to  early  for- 
eign commerce  based  upon  early  Chinese  knowledge 
of  the  compass  may  be  regarded  as  conjecture.  But 
it  is  a matter  of  record  that  sea  traders  from  the  In- 
dian Ocean  established  a colony  at  Kiaochow,  Shan- 
tung, B.  C.  675-670.® 


* Faber,  Ernst:  Chronological  Handbook  of  the  History  of  China,  p.  13. 

’ Werner,  E.  T.  C.:  Descriptive  Sociology  of  the  Chinese,  Table  I,  col.  25. 

' * Encyclopaedia  Britannica,  vol.  vi,  p.  806.  i 

‘Werner,  E.  T.  C.:  Descriptive  Sociology  of  the  Chinese,  Table  VI,  col.  23. 

• Lacouperie,  Terrien  de:  Introduction  to  the  Catalogue  of  Coins  in  the 
British  Museum,  p.  xi. 


COMMERCIAL  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


75 


The  first  registration  of  transport  wagons  appears 
in  A.  D.  1297  Foreign  commerce  between  China  and 
the  west  follows  the  two  great  land  routes  across  cen- 
tral Asia,  one  north  and  one  south  of  the  Caspian. 
Chinese  colonies  sprang  up  in  connection  with  these 
trade  routes,  and  especially  with  the  water-route.  In 
the  first  century  B.  C.  Chinese  silk,  cotton,  pearls,  and 
precious  stones  brought  high  prices  in  Rome.  In  re- 
turn, Chang  Kien,  B.  C.  122,  brought  from  the  west 
for  cultivation  in  the  Far  East  peas,  cucumbers, 
sesame,  spinach,  watermelons,  and  walnuts,®  also 
hemp  and  the  grape.®  Again,  in  A.  D.  166,  we  find  the 
Romans  striving  to  maintain  maritime  trade  with 
China  until  the  Arabs  intervened  and  monopolized  it. 
Arab  monopoly  continued  for  centuries  and  led  to  the 
introduction  of  Mohammedanism  into  China  A.  D. 
628,  and  of  four  thousand  Arabian  soldiers  in  A.  D. 
755  to  aid  in  putting  down  a rebellion.  These  soldiers 
were  permitted  to  settle  in  the  country,  and  four  cen- 
turies later  there  was  an  influx  of  Arabians  under 
Genghis  Kahn  which  largely  increased  the  Moham- 
medan population.^®  These  immigrants,  with  their 
zeal  for  religion  and  their  desire  for  trade,  have  re- 
sulted in  some  ten  to  thirty  million  Chinese  becoming 
Mohammedans.  The  translation  of  Chau  Jukua’s 
writings  by  Professor  Hirth  and  Mr.  Rockhill  fur- 
nishes us  much  valuable  information  on  Arab  trade 
during  the  twelfth  and  thirteenth  centuries.  The 
Chinese  Mohammedans  under  foreign  encouragement 

' Faber.  Ernst:  Chronological  Handbook  of  the  History  of  China,  p.  42. 

8 CandoUe,  Alphonse  L.  P.  de : Origin  of  Cultivated  Plants. 

’ Faber.  Ernst:  Chronological  Handbook  of  the  History  of  China,  p.  43. 

Encyclopaedia  Britannica,  vol.  vi,  p.  175,  d. 


76  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

attempted  to  establish  an  independent  government  in 
Yunnan  in  1855-73,  and  in  Kansu  in  1860-73. 

Paper  money,  not  simply  the  negotiable  notes  de- 
scribed above,  was  first  introduced  into  China  between 
A.  D.  589  and  960,  and  the  double  standard  of  money 
followed.  Two  causes  of  the  downfall  of  the  noted 
Sung  dynasty  were  the  overissue  of  irredeemable 
paper  money  and  the  loss  of  the  trade  routes  between 
the  east  and  the  west,  with  consequent  economic  suf- 
ferings of  the  people.  Hence,  in  1280,  following  the 
conquest  of  Genghis  Kahn,  the  great  land  routes  be- 
tween the  east  and  west  were  freely  opened  again,  and 
this  was  one  of  the  causes  of  the  great  success  of  his 
government.  Alongside  these  land  routes  postal 
routes  are  said  to  have  been  established.  Boats  with 
water-tight  compartments  came  into  use  between  A.  D. 
1280  and  1368,  and  have  continued  in  use  ever  since.” 
In  1287  new  paper  money  with  notes  a foot  square 
made  from  mulberry  bark  was  issued.  Unfortu- 
nately, the  government  was  not  able  to  redeem  its  notes 
on  presentation  and  beautiful  notes  printed  on  lasting 
paper  cannot  make  a fiat  currency  acceptable.  Hence 
during  the  latter  part  of  the  Mongol  dynasty  irredeem- 
able paper  money  paralyzed  business,  drove  trade  back 
to  the  old  form  of  barter,  and  led  to  the  downfall  of 
the  dynasty  in  1368. 

In  15 1 1 the  first  European  reached  China  by  ship,” 
and  in  1517”  the  Portuguese  reached  Canton.  This 
was  the  beginning  of  modern  foreign  trade  with 
China ; and  European  intercourse  was  regarded  favor- 

Werner,  E.  T.  C.:  Descriptive  Sociology  of  the  Chinese,  Table  VII,  col.  25. 

>=  Ibid.,  Table  VIII,  col.  25. 

w Encyclopaedia  Britannica,  vol.  vi,  p.  197. 


COMMERCIAL  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


77 


ably  by  the  Chinese  until  Portuguese  pirates,  through 
extortion  and  cruelty,  forfeited  all  regard.  The  Por- 
tuguese on  being  driven  from  China  took  possession 
of  the  Philippines,  and  later  were  supplanted  by  the 
Spaniards.  Before  the  intervention  of  western  na- 
tions, trade  with  the  Philippines  was  in  the  hands  of 
the  Chinese,  and  the  same  is  largely  true  of  trade  in 
Manila  to-day.  In  1637  five  English  ships  arrived  in 
Canton.  This  was  the  beginning,  between  the  English 
speaking  peoples  and  the  Chinese,  of  that  trade  and 
intercourse  which  is  destined  to  play  an  important 
part  in  shaping  the  events  of  the  twentieth  century 
around  the  Pacific  Basin.  In  1638  the  first  tea  was 
sent  to  Russia  by  the  land  route,  a trade  between  the 
Chinese  and  Russians  which  has  been  maintained 
down  to  the  present  day.  Indeed,  on  account  of  the 
contact  of  their  national  boundaries  and  their  mutual 
adaptation  to  foreign  customs,  the  Chinese  and  the 
Russians  have  exercised  considerable  influence  upon 
each  other — an  influence  which  probably  will  increase 
during  the  coming  centuries.  In  1660  tea  was  first 
sent  from  China  to  England.^^  In  1784  the  first 
American  ship  reached  Canton;  during  1789  fifteen 
American  ships  entered  that  port,  and  between  1805 
and  1833  896  American  ships  with  a total  tonnage  of 
500,000^®  arrived  at  Canton.  One  of  the  American 
tea  ships  in  1807  brought  out  Robert  Morrison — re- 
fused passage  in  the  ships  of  the  East  India  Com- 
pany— who  became  the  founder  of  Protestant  missions 
in  China. 


i‘  Faber,  Ernst;  Chronological  Handbook  of  the  History  of  China,  p.  234. 
1‘Langdon:  Thousand  Things  Chinese,  p.  252. 


78  CHINA;  AN  INTERPRETATION 

Between  i86i  and  1900  the  immense  junk  traffic  of 
China  was  largely  displaced  by  steamboat  traffic  along 
the  coasts  and  upon  the  larger  rivers.  The  throwing 
of  an  immense  number  of  boatmen  out  of  employ- 
ment, with  no  other  provision  for  their  livelihood,  has 
been  one  of  the  great  economic  causes  of  the  Chinese 
distrust  of  foreigners  just  as  the  sudden  destruction 
of  junk,  cart,  and  wheelbarrow  traffic  by  the  opening 
of  the  Peking-Tientsin  Railway  was  the  economic 
occasion  for  the  Boxer  Uprising,  though  by  no  means 
the  only  reason  for  that  struggle. 

It  was  not  until  1876  that  the  Woosung-Shanghai 
Railway  was  built.  This  was  a railway  only  ten  miles 
long,  constructed  by  Sir  Robert  Perks,  of  England,  for 
English  owners.  The  Chinese  government,  however, 
soon  became  alarmed  through  the  conviction  of  the 
people  that  the  new  railway  running  through  Chinese 
burial  grounds  disturbed  the  spirits  of  the  dead.  Hence 
the  government  bought  the  road  from  its  English  own- 
ers at  a very  considerable  advance  over  the  cost  of 
construction  and  immediately  hired  Sir  Robert  Perks 
to  tear  it  up.  In  1895  the  viceroy,  Chang  Chih-tung, 
received  permission  from  the  imperial  government  to 
build  a railway  from  Shanghai  to  Nanking;  and  on 
December  6 of  the  same  year  a decree  was  issued  by 
the  Chinese  government  permitting  the  building  of  a 
railway  from  Tientsin  to  Lukow  Bridge  near  Peking. 
In  1881  the  first  telegraph  line,  that  between  Shanghai 
and  Tientsin,  was  opened.  These  data  mark  the  be- 
ginning of  telegraph  and  railway  construction  in 
China.  Another  ste]i  in  the  advancement  of  China’s 
foreign  trade  was  the  opening  of  the  Suez  Canal  in 


COMMERCIAL  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


79 


1869;  and  an  even  more  important  step  for  Japan, 
Australia,  and  New  Zealand — lands  lying  east  of 
China — and  an  important  step  for  China  was  the 
opening  of  the  Panama  Canal  in  1915* 

If  China  has  been  slow  in  introducing  these  physical 
conditions  for  industrial  and  commercial  expansion, 
the  blame  was  due  in  part  to  the  methods  by  which  they 
were  developed  and  administered,  as  well  as  to  China’s 
opposition  to  foreign  trade  per  se.  The  record  of  her 
earlier  foreign  trade  and  the  eagerness  of  her  people 
for  commerce  raise  the  question  as  to  whether  China’s 
so-called  innate  opposition  to  foreign  trade  may  not  be 
due  to  the  treatment  she  has  suffered  and  the  dangers 
which  threaten  her.  All  familiar  with  the  foreign 
relations  of  China  and  Western  governments  during 
the  last  four  hundred  years  must  admit  that  this 
dread  has  been  well  founded.  In  view  of  the  fact  that 
foreign  nations  were  robbing  China  of  her  sover- 
eignty, and  in  view  of  the  fact  that  China  received  no 
material  aid  from  any  Western  nation  in  resisting 
these  foreign  aggressions,  the  Boxer  Uprising  be- 
comes, hot  in  the  slightest  degree  defensible,  especially 
in  the  treachery  with  which  it  was  conducted,  but  at 
least  intelligible.  In  the  Boxer  Uprising  a weak  na- 
tion, threatened  with  destruction,  finally  resolved  out 
of  superstition  and  despair  to  trust  to  her  gods  for 
protection  and  attempt  to  drive  every  hated  foreigner 
from  her  national  domain. 

In  1863  Sir  Robert  Hart  was  accepted  by  the 
Chinese  as  inspector  of  customs ; and  customhouses  on 
the  frontier  were  established.  Great  Britain  never 
gave  China  a more  honest  or  capable  officer  than  Sir 


8o 


CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


Robert  Hart.  China  is  under  a lasting  debt  of  grati- 
tude to  him ; and,  happily,  she  recognized  his  unfailing 
honesty  and  friendship  and  honored  him  for  many 
years  before  his  death.  But  Great  Britain  in  some 
measure  made  the  appointment  of  Sir  Robert  Hart  a 
means  of  attempting  to  control  the  financial  policy  of 
the  empire.  In  order  to  secure  the  advantages  of  a 
rapid  dissemination  of  news  without  the  introduction 
of  foreign  control  of  the  country,  China  committed  the 
constructon  of  her  telegraph  lines  to  the  Danes,  citi- 
zens of  one  of  the  smallest  governments  of  Europe; 
and  yet  Chinese  officials  complained  recently  that  not 
only  England  used  so  honest  a man  as  Sir  Robert  Hart 
for  dictating  China’s  financial  policy,  but  that  the 
Danes  took  advantage  of  their  privilege  to  secure 
most  of  the  telegraph  lines  in  China.  The  Chinese  also 
claim  that  in  connection  with  every  railway  built  by 
foreigners  in  China  the  foreign  governments  have 
assumed  some  rights  of  control,  thus  limiting  the 
sovereignty  of  the  Chinese  nation.  In  order  to  offset 
the  danger  of  interference  with  her  internal  affairs 
by  some  of  the  other  nations,  and  especially  by  Russia, 
China  freely  granted  to  an  American  syndicate  headed 
by  the  late  Senator  Calvin  S.  Brice,  of  Ohio,  the  most 
valuable  concession  for  a railway  in  the  nation,  namely, 
the  concession  from  Hankow  to  Canton.  But  here, 
again,  Chinese  obstructions  and  financial  greed  be- 
trayed a solemn  trust.  The  Chinese  supposed  that 
the  American  government  controlled  American  citi- 
zens. But  Mr.  Brice  having  secured  this  railway  for 
his  syndicate  almost  without  cost,  through  China’s 
high  regard  for  the  government  of  America,  and 


COiMMERCTAL  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


8i 


being  annoyed  by  constant  delays  and  the  apparent 
distrust  of  the  Chinese  government,  sold  it  for  some 
$5,000,000  to  a Belgian  syndicate,  which  in  turn  was 
controlled  by  Russia — the  very  nation  which  China 
was  anxious  to  keep  out  of  the  central  part  of  her 
empire.  Hence  China  was  obliged  to  buy  back  from 
the  Belgian  syndicate  for  $10,000,000  the  concession 
which  she  had  given  to  an  American  syndicate. 
Further  interference  with  the  industrial  and  commer- 
cial development  of  China  has  been  due  to  territorial 
aggression.  If,  therefore,  Chinese  industry  and  com- 
merce have  been  somewhat  slow'  in  responding  to 
foreign  commercial  influences,  this  delay  has  been  due 
in  part  to  China’s  dread  of  foreign  aggression.^® 

With  this  brief  historical  review,  the  consideration 
of  China’s  commerce  falls  under  the  two  heads, 
namely.  Transportation  and  Exchange. 

I.  Transportation 

Commerce  depends  largely  upon  transportation. 
Every  person  who  is  at  all  familiar  wdth  China  will 
recognize  the  entire  absence  of  good  roads  for  travel 
or  the  transportation  of  goods.  The  difficulty  has 
been  remedied  in  some  measure  by  the  use  of  canals, 
and  it  has  been  more  fully  remedied  by  the  large  use 
of  steamships  and  by  the  construction  of  a few  rail- 
w^ays.  Nevertheless,  the  lack  of  suitable  wagon  roads 
in  China  has  been  probably  the  greatest  barrier  to 
widespread  trade.  The  government,  for  political  pur- 
poses, has  taken  charge  of  road  building  from  the 
earliest  times,  just  as  the  Roman  government  took 


See  Appendix  VIII,  “Japan’s  Twenty-one  Demands  on  China.” 


82 


CHINA;  AN  INTERPRETATION 


charge  of  road  construction  during  the  period  of  im- 
perial expansion,  and  just  as  many  modern  govern- 
ments have  taken  charge  of  railway  construction.  The 
building  of  roads  in  China  has  given  the  governors 
their  greatest  opportunity  for  levying  special  taxes 
upon  the  people,  and,  through  devotion  to  their  fami- 
lies rather  than  loyalty  to  the  state,  keeping  a large 
portion  of  the  money  for  their  own  enrichment.  This 
method  has  become  so  common  in  the  official  life  of 
China  that,  however  much  the  people  may  suffer  for 
roads,  there  is  an  almost  universal  opposition  to  the 
proposal  of  an  official  to  construct  a new  road.  The 
people  instinctively  have  come  to  regard  such  a pro- 
posal simply  as  a polite  method  of  levying  graft  upon 
them.  Only  a radical  reform  in  government,  arising 
from  the  reorganization  of  society  upon  a basis  of 
patriotism  rather  than  of  family  interest — this  alone 
will  enable  the  Chinese  to  secure  a system  of  good 
roads  so  essential  for  the  transportation  of  their  pro- 
duce. 

A more  serious  difficulty  arises  from  the  lack  until 
recent  years,  and  still  in  large  measure,  of  railways. 
Opposition  to  railways  sprang  originally  from  the  con- 
servatism of  the  people  and  of  the  officials,  and  this 
conservatism  was  based  in  part  upon  religious  super- 
stition. It  is  impossible  to  construct  railways  along 
any  lines  which  an  engineer  would  approve  without 
disturbing  the  graves  of  ancestors,  and  the  people 
were  afraid  that  the  spirits  of  these  ancestors  would 
send  plague  or  flood  or  drought  upon  them  in  return 
for  the  irreverence  of  such  treatment.  This  super- 
stition is  rapidly  disappearing  and  probaldy  will  not 


COMMERCIAL  LIFE  IN  CHINA  83 

prove  a serious  barrier  to  the  future  construction  of 
railways  throug'hout  the  nation. 

Through  lack  of  railways  the  productivity  of  China 
suflfers  from  the  large  number  engaged  in  transporta- 
tion. While  transportation  of  goods  from  the  place 
where  there  is  an  oversupply  to  the  place  where  they 
are  needed  is  absolutely  essential,  nevertheless  that 
transportation  does  not  add  a pound  to  a ton  of  rice, 
or  improve  its  quality  in  the  slightest  degree.  Hence 
the  fewer  the  number  of  people  required  in  any  land 
for  the  transportation  of  goods,  the  larger  the  number 
left  for  production ; and  the  comfort  of  the  people  de- 
pends upon  the  amount  of  goods  produced  for  their 
consumption.  From  such  observations  as  we  have 
been  able  to  make  in  long  journeys  through  China  we 
are  impressed  with  the  fact  that  two  thirds  to  three 
fourths  of  the  goods  in  the  interior  and  in  the  western 
part  of  the  nation  are  transported  by  human  labor. 
Steamships  and  railways  are  now  carrying  the  larger 
proportion  of  Chinese  goods  along  the  coasts  and  up 
and  down  the  main  rivers  and  over  some  six  thousand 
miles  of  railway  lines.  In  addition,  twenty-three  hun- 
dred miles  of  railway  are  under  construction.  Carts 
in  north  China  divide  the  work  of  transportation  with 
railways,  steamships,  boats,  and  wheelbarrows,  and 
transport  the  greater  portion  of  goods  to  the  interior 
of  perhaps  the  six  northern  provinces,  including  the 
three  in  Manchuria.  The  transportation  across  the 
deserts  of  Mongolia  and  Chinese  Turkestan  is  by 
camels.  But  all  through  the  central,  southern  and 
western  regions  of  China  human  labor,  using  boats, 
wheelbarrows,  and  carrying  poles,  is  the  chief  method 


84  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


of  transporting  goods.  Considering  the  immense 
amount  of  human  labor  involved  in  transportation  in 
China,  its  low  cost  is  a marvel.  Jernigan”  estimates 
the  cost  of  transportation  by  canal  and  river  boats, 
partly  propelled  by  sails  and  partly  drawn  by  men,  at 
three  cents  per  ton  per  mile ; on  creek  and  canal  boats, 
when  the  wind  is  favorable  and  they  can  be  propelled 
by  sails,  one  and  a half  cents  per  ton  per  mile;  for 
transportation  in  mule  carts,  two  and  a half  cents  per 
ton  per  mile;  for  transportation  by  camel  caravans 
across  deserts,  five  cents  per  ton  per  mile;  for  trans- 
portation by  carrying  on  the  shoulders  of  men,  twelve 
to  fifteen  cents  per  ton  per  mile.  Jernigan’s  estimates, 
made  some  ten  years  ago,  are  too  low  for  the  present 
time.  Dr.  A.  H.  W ood  of  Canton  says  coal  transpor- 
tation cost  him  in  1906  by  a canal  boat  one  cent  per 
ton  per  mile;  by  wheelbarrow,  two  and  one  fourth 
cents  per  ton  per  mile.  This  estimate  also  is  low  for 
the  present  time. 

We  marvel  that  the  Chinese  can  be  induced  to  carry 
upon  their  shoulders  burdens  at  the  rate  of  fifteen  cents 
per  ton  per  mile.  W.  N.  Brewster  states  that  the  rate 
is  some  forty-five  cents,  gold,  per  ton  per  mile  around 
Hinghwa.^®  L.  W.  Page,  of  the  United  States  Depart- 
ment of  Agriculture,  says  that  the  average  cost  for 
transportation  in  wagons  in  the  United  States  is 
twenty-three  cents  per  ton  per  mile.^®  The  average 
rate  of  railway  transportation  in  the  United  States  is 
three  fourths  of  a cent  per  ton  per  mile.  Probably 
some  fifteen  to  twenty  per  cent  of  the  labor  of  Chinese 


Jernigan,  T.  R.:  China  in  Law  and  Commerce,  pp.  230,  231,  360. 

**  Bashford,  James  W.:  Notes,  bk.  45,  p.  25a. 

*•  The  World’s  Work,  July,  1909;  compare  Bashford's  Notes,  bk.  ii.  p.  la. 


COMMERCIAL  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


85 


men  is  engaged  in  transportation.  This  per  cent  in 
China  is  far  too  high  as  compared  with  the  other  na- 
tions of  the  earth.  Some  si.x  to  eight  per  cent  of  the 
adult  labor  of  the  United  Kingdom  is  employed  in 
transportation,  and  the  United  Kingdom  is  in  some 
sense  the  common  carrier  for  the  world.  In  Belgium 
and  Austria,  which  to  a large  extent  simply  transport 
their  own  goods,  only  two  to  three  per  cent  of  the  adult 
labor  is  engaged  in  transportation.  If  the  Chinese 
nation  by  applying  steam  and  electric  power  to  trans- 
portation, can  release  some  ten  to  fifteen  per  cent  of 
labor  from  its  present  terrific  strain  in  transporting 
goods  and  transfer  this  labor  to  producing  goods,  it 
will  add  that  much  to  the  productive  capacity  of  the 
people. 

But  while  recognizing  the  imperative  need  of  the 
introduction  of  steam  and  electricity  for  transporta- 
tion, those  who  propose  such  improvements  should 
bear  in  mind  the  danger  of  turning  some  ten  to  fifteen 
per  cent  of  the  laboring  class  suddenly  out  of  em- 
plo>anent  without  first  providing  other  methods  by 
which  these  people  can  earn  a living.  The  great 
corporations  which  plan  the  railways  ought  to  build 
them  first  in  regions  where  they  may  tap  the  coal 
and  iron  fields  and  thus  create  a demand  for  the 
labor  relieved  from  transportation,  and  open  up  these 
vast  resources  of  the  nation.  Arrangements  should 
be  made  for  the  employment  of  surplus  labor  in  min- 
ing coal  and  in  other  industries  immediately  on  the 
completion  of  the  roads.  Such  a plan  would  furnish 
coal  for  transportation  to  keep  the  railways  busy 
and  enable  them  to  earn  an  income  on  their  invest- 


86 


CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


merit  from  the  first.  Such  a plan,  therefore,  while 
demanding  larger  capital  than  the  mere  building  of 
a railway  would  require,  will  prove  profitable  to  the 
companies  which  inaugurate  the  enterprise,  help  the 
people,  and  prevent  a revolution  springing  out  of 
industrial  causes.  The  difficulty  which  the  laboring 
classes  in  Western  nations  have  had  in  adapting  them- 
selves to  the  sudden  changes  made  in  the  labor  markets 
of  Europe  and  America  by  the  introduction  of  machin- 
ery has  caused  hard  times,  and  on  more  than  one  occa- 
sion has  well-nigh  precipitated  a revolution.  The 
Japanese  are  suffering  to-day  very  severely  from  this 
cause.  Surely,  statesmanship  and  a wise  regard  for 
permanent  returns  on  investments,  as  well  as  human- 
itarian considerations,  demand  that  the  change  in 
transportation  in  China  should  be  inaugurated  in  a 
manner  which  will  serve  the  immediate  interest  of  the 
working  classes,  as  well  as  the  financial  interests  of 
managers  of  corporations,  and  thus  promote  the  inter- 
ests of  the  nation  as  a whole. 

At  one  point  it  is  quite  possible  that  the  Western 
world  has  a lesson  to  learn  in  transportation  from 
China.  A popular  writer  in  one  of  our  American 
magazines  said  recently  that  owing  to  the  location  of 
our  factories  predominantly  on  the  eastern  side  of  the 
country,  far  from  the  centers  where  raw  materials  are 
produced  and  the  goods  consumed,  substantially  sixty- 
five  cents  out  of  every  dollar  spent  for  consumption 
goes  to  pay  the  cost  of  transporting  the  goods 
and  meeting  the  expenses  of  the  middle  men,  etc. 
C.  L.  King,“"  assistant  professor  of  political  science  in 


Bashford,  James  W.:  Notes,  bk.  47,  p.  32. 


COMMERCIAL  LIFE  IN  CHINA  87 


the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  in  his  book  entitled 
The  Lower  Living  Costs  in  Cities,  traces  apples  from 
central  New  York,  where  the  farmer  receives  $2.50 
per  barrel,  to  the  kitchen  in  New  York  city,  where  the 
housewife  pays  $5  per  barrel — a doubling  of  the  price 
between  producer  and  consumer  despite  the  cheap 
rates  of  freight  transportation  in  the  United  States. 
In  1913  a study  made  by  the  Wisconsin  Board  of 
Public  Affairs  showed  that  the  cost  of  transportation 
and  distribution  on  cheese  produced  in  that  State  adds 
for  the  consumer  two  hundred  and  seventy-two  per 
cent  to  the  price  which  the  farmer  receives  for  the 
cheese.  Professor  King  shows  that  eggs  in  the  United 
States  for  which  the  farmers  received  $6,000,000  cost 
the  consumers  $13,000,000.  Of  the  total  expenditures 
made  by  the  American  people  for  food,  two  fifths  to 
three  quarters  go  to  transportation,  to  the  middlemen, 
and  to  losses  by  deterioration  due  to  inadequate  facil- 
ities and  for  marketing.  The  Chinese,  partly  through 
necessity  and  partly  through  the  remarkable  resources 
of  their  country,  have  been  able  not  only  to  live  with- 
out much  foreign  importation,  but  also  to  live  in  vari- 
ous sections  almost  wholly  upon  the  products  of  the 
locality.  Hence  the  farmers  in  China,  who  compose 
the  vast  bulk  of  the  population,  come  very  much  nearer 
to  living  upon  the  products  of  their  farms  and  of  their 
immediate  neighborhood  than  people  of  equal  civiliza- 
tion in  probably  any  other  country  on  earth.  Perhaps 
China  will  not  need  to  go  so  far  as  many  Western 
nations  in  massing  her  industrial  workers  in  large 
cities  and  transporting  raw  materials  long  distances  to 
the  factories  and  long  distances  back  to  the  consumers. 


88 


CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


At  least  the  example  of  China  furnishes  a suggestion 
to  the  United  States  of  a possible  improvement  in  the 
wider  distribution  of  factories  and  of  industrial  work- 
ers and  especially  in  locations  nearer  the  sources  of 
supply.  The  helpful  redistribution  of  our  city  popula- 
tion into  wider  residential  areas  may  also  show  China 
how  to  avoid  a danger  which  has  threatened  our  West- 
ern civilization.  Certainly,  America  has  lessons  to 
learn  from  China  in  the  wider  distribution  of  popula- 
tion and  a lessening  demand  for  the  transportation  of 
food,  while  China  has  lessons  in  transportation  to  learn 
from  the  Western  world. 

II.  Exchange 

Turning  to  the  second  great  division  of  commerce, 
we  are  confronted  by : 

I.  Inaccuracy.  Here  China  finds  herself  immedi- 
ately facing  an  unusual  handicap.  Some  think  that 
inaccuracy  is  an  inherent  trait  of  Chinese  character, 
practically  ineradicable  and  bound  to  prove  a lasting 
hindrance  to  the  race  in  the  competition  of  the  modern 
world.  Three  or  four  considerations  tend  to  correct 
this  impression.  The  Chinese  have  had  a decimal  sys- 
tem for  some  three  thousand  years,  and  they  use  it  in  a 
larger  number  of  tables  of  weights  and  measures  to- 
day than  any  Western  nations  save  those  which  are 
using  the  metric  system.  Dr.  A.  PI.  Smith,  an  un- 
rivaled observer,  says,  “The  Chinese  are  as  capable  of 
learning  minute  accuracy  in  all  things  as  any  nation 
ever  was — nay,  more  so,  for  they  are  endowed 
with  infinite  patience.”  J.  Dyer  BalP"  maintains 


*'  Chinese  Characteristics,  p.  57. 

“ The  Chinese  at  Home,  chap,  xix,  "The  Care  of  the  Minute.” 


COMMERCIAL  LIFE  IN  CHINA  89 

that  the  Chinese  excel  any  other  people  on  earth  in  the 
care  of  infinitesimals.  That  their  inaccuracy  is  not 
due  to  mental  dullness  may  be  inferred  from  the  fact 
that  inaccuracy  in  coinage,  weights,  measures,  etc,, 
never  tells  against  the  dominant  factor  in  the  transac- 
tion, but  always  against  the  victim,  whether  this  victim 
be  a foreigner  or  some  poor  Chinese  compelled  to 
patronize  the  owner  of  the  goods.  Again,  one  can 
hardly  charge  inaccuracy  as  an  ineradicable  trait  of 
character  against  a people  who  master  and  use  several 
thousand  characters  in  their  language.  It  must  be 
remembered  also  that  precision  and  clearness  in  hand- 
writing is  especially  insisted  upon  by  the  Chinese,  and 
that  their  chirography  far  surpasses  the  chirography 
of  Western  hands.  Even  with  the  most  inaccurate 
class  it  is  difficult  to  charge  inaccuracy  as  an  inherent 
trait  against  women  who  surpass  their  best  Western 
competitors  in  the  exquisite  delicacy  with  which  they 
match  colors  and  shades  in  weaving  and  in  needle- 
work. 

We  think  this  inaccuracy  can  be  explained  in  part 
upon  the  ground  that  the  Chinese  language  is  a clumsy 
vehicle  of  thought  and  that  appliances  and  tools  are 
exceedingly  crude.  First,  a language  with  no  inflec- 
tions to  denote  mood,  tense  or  case,  a language  in 
which  men  are  compelled  to  express  finer  shades  of 
meaning  by  agglutinations  or  by  additional  words, 
makes  accurate  thought  and  expression  difficult.  But 
the  critic  at  once  will  answer  that  we  are  confusing 
cause  and  effect,  that  the  clumsy  language  is  an  indica- 
tion of  the  inaccurate  thinker,  and  that  the  tools  of  the 
mind  and  of  the  hand  would  be  more  precise  if  the 


90 


CHINA;  AN  INTERPRETATION 


Chinese  mind  itself  were  clearer.  But  three  answers 
may  be  made  to  this  objection. 

First,  the  Chinese  have  not  until  recently  reached 
that  stage  of  civilization  in  which  accuracy  is  regarded 
as  necessary  or  desirable.  Western  civilization  fur- 
nishes many  proofs  of  a similer  lack  of  accuracy  pre- 
vailing down  to  our  scientific  era,  and  continuing,  at 
least  among  many  of  our  people,  down  to  the  present 
time.  Nothing  is  more  common  in  the  social  life  of  the 
Western  world  than  speech  and  manners  which  fall 
far  short  of  scientific  accuracy  or  of  absolute  truthful- 
ness. Even  we  have  not  yet  reached  the  stage  of 
Christian  civilization  when  our  yea  is  }'^ea  and  our  nay 
is  nay.  The  Chinese  have  been  obliged  to  live  in  far 
closer  contact  with  each  other  than  we  in  the  West- 
ern world  could  endure.  Entire  accuracy  and  candor 
of  speech  in  unredeemed  humanity  demands  a degree 
of  virtue  to  which  no  race  has  yet  attained.  Vague  as 
their  language  is,  this  close  contact  of  unsanctified 
humanity  makes  them  chary  and  indirect  in  the  use 
even  of  their  indefinite  speech.  Indeed,  the  Chinese 
would  deem  clear,  transparent  speech  as  unwise,  as  a 
transparent  house,  or  a transparent  brain  or  heart, 
revealing  all  that  goes  on  within.  The  first  explana- 
tion, therefore,  of  inaccuracy  among  the  Chinese  is 
that  scientific  clearness  has  not  been  deemed  by  them 
necessary  or  wise. 

Second,  our  Western  nations,  while  not  so  grossly 
careless  as  the  Chinese,  share  at  least  something  of 
their  inaccuracy.  Western  statistics  never  have  mathe- 
matical exactness.  We  quote  our  census  statistics 
down  to  the  last  man.  We  seem  to  forget  that  human- 


COMMERCIAL  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


91 


ity  is  a living  organism  and  that  no  statistics  of  popu- 
lation or  health,  no  statistics  relating  to  any  living 
subject  on  earth  are,  or  in  the  nature  of  the  case  can 
be,  scientifically  accurate.  Again,  in  our  land  mea- 
sures we  attempt  to  survey  ground  for  sale  to  measure 
on  the  level,  whereas  in  measuring  roads  it  is  custom- 
ary for  the  chain  to  follow  the  rise  and  fall  of  the  road- 
way. So  a Chinese  measuring  the  hill  up  which  he  car- 
ries his  load  calls  the  distance  farther  than  when  he 
measures  down  the  hill;  and  the  varying  distances 
which  he  names  are  no  proof  of  his  ignorance  or  inac- 
curacy. Boatmen  on  a certain  portion  of  the  Yangtze 
count  the  distance  one  hundred  and  twenty  li  up  the 
river,  and  reckon  the  same  distance  as  eighty  li  down 
the  river.  They  find  substantially  this  difference  in 
time  and  cost  of  transporting  the  goods  in  these  diff  er- 
ent directions.  If  they  can  incorporate  these  differ- 
ences in  their  estimate  of  the  distance  and  leave  them 
embodied  in  the  road  or  river,  fixed  once  for  all,  they 
can  count  transportation  so  much  per  li,  instead  of 
being  obliged  not  only  to  remember  the  distance  but  to 
vary  the  price  per  li  constantly  in  proportion  to  the  dif- 
ficulties of  the  road. 

Third,  final  explanation  of  Chinese  inaccuracy  is 
found  in  the  fact  already  cited,  that  the  strong 
profit  through  inaccuracy.  A study  of  Werner’s 
Descriptive  Sociology  of  the  Chinese  will  reveal  on 
almost  every  page  of  the  parts  in  which  he  treats  of 
exchange,  changes  in  the  standard  of  value,  in  the 
standard  of  weights  and  in  the  standard  of  measures. 
The  Rev.  Frank  Chalfant  writes:  “Probably  no  nation 
has  had  so  great  a variety  of  coinage  as  China.  The 


92 


CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


imperial,  state,  and  private  issues  are  not  fewer  than 
ten  thousand.”  These  changing  standards  through- 
out the  history  of  China  have  been  used  by  the  strong 
parties  to  their  own  advantage.  The  banker  generally 
handles  the  difference  in  exchange  so  that  it  tells  upon 
his  side  and  not  upon  the  side  of  the  borrower.  The 
merchant  generally  handles  the  difference  in  exchange 
and  in  measures  in  such  a manner  that  they  contribute 
to  his  own  advantage.  The  builder  manipulates  the 
differences  in  his  measurements  in  a manner  to  in- 
crease his  profits.  This  almost  universal  inaccuracy 
in  China  is  not  due  to  any  ineradicable  habit  of  inac- 
curacy, but  to  the  fact  that  for  centuries  inaccuracy 
has  tended  to  the  temporary  profit  of  the  leaders  in 
industry  and  exchange.  Doubtless  China  as  a whole 
and  in  the  long  run  will  be  helped  by  a correction  of 
this  fault.  But  it  is  at  least  a striking  situation  that 
the  foreign  banks  doing  business  in  China  are  not 
pressing  with  any  degree  of  eagerness  for  the  currency 
reform. 

It  may  be  hoped  that  a growth  of  the  spirit  of 
patriotism  and  an  appreciation  of  China’s  necessities 
in  international  trade  presently  will  develop  a body  of 
men  of  sufficient  foresight  and  unselfishness  to  give 
China  a fair  chance  in  production  and  exchange 
among  other  nations  of  the  world  by  placing  her  sys- 
tem of  coinage,  of  weights  and  measures  upon  an 
accurate  basis.  We  must  await  the  higher  education 
and  the  loftier  patriotism  and  the  broader  statesman- 
ship of  the  future  to  accomplish  this  reform.  China  is 
in  need  of  sufficient  faith  in  a righteous  God  and  a 


“ Ancient  Chinese  Coinage,  p.  6. 


COMMERCIAL  LIFE  IN  CHINA  93 

future  life  to  make  men  honest,  even  when  honesty 
limits  temporary  gains. 

2.  Reliability.  Next  to  fixed  standards  of 
weights,  measures,  and  currency,  or  perhaps  more 
important,  is  honesty  as  a condition  of  exchange.  At 
this  point  the  Chinese  in  some  measure  atone  for  their 
inaccuracy.  The  long  centuries  of  Chinese  commerce 
have  led  them  through  hard  experience  to  develop 
business  perceptions  and  to  elaborate  business  prin- 
ciples unexcelled  by  those  of  any  other  people.  Com- 
merce in  China  has  been  reduced  probably  to  simpler 
principles  than  in  an)'^  other  country  on  earth,  and 
one  principle  which  every  Chinese  firm  recognizes 
as  underlying  all  long-continued  success  in  trade  is 
reliability.  So  strong  is  the  Chinese  emphasis  upon 
this  virtue  that  Western  writers  have  overestimated 
the  inherent  honesty  of  the  Chinese  and  have  made 
exaggerated  statements  upon  the  subject.  If  we 
define  the  honest  man  as  he  who  is  reliable  from 
principle  without  regard  to  consequences,  and  the 
reliable  man  as  he  who  is  honest  from  policy  because 
he  knows  that  in  the  long  run  honesty  pays  best, 
we  should  characterize  the  Chinese  as  reliable  rather 
than  honest.  Their  representations  of  goods  cannot 
always  be  trusted,  and  few  merchants  quote  fixed 
prices  to  all  who  enter  their  stores.  Probably  they 
furnish  as  many  people  who  are  honest  from  prin- 
ciple as  any  other  non-Christian  country  and  as 
most  so-called  Christian  nations.  But,  in  the  main, 
Chinese  reliability  in  commerce  has  grown  up  from 
centuries  of  experience  and  rests  upon  their  sound 
business  judgment.  Those  residing  in  Peking  at  the 


94 


CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


close  of  the  Boxer  Uprising  will  recall  an  instance  of 
two  leaders  of  an  old  firm  rebuilding  one  of  the  city 
gates  who  on  learning  that  they  had  been  cheated  by 
a distant  firm  and  were  unable  to  keep  their  engage- 
ments, committed  suicide  rather  than  face  the  humilia- 
tion of  seeing  the  firm  name  and  the  family  name  dis- 
graced. 

Another  cause  of  Chinese  reliability  is  the  conviction 
than  one  is  humiliated  in  the  next  world  by  a financial 
failure  in  the  present  world.  If,  therefore,  a father 
dies  with  outstanding  obligations,  sometimes  his  sons 
and  even  his  grandsons  toil  for  years  to  pay  his  debts 
in  order  to  maintain  their  father’s  credit  in  the  spirit 
world  as  well  as  the  credit  of  themselves  in  the  pres- 
ent world.  Here  is  a motive  for  reliability  which  takes 
rank  with  Christian  motives. 

3.  The  Chinese  Mediator.  A third  factor  which 
bulks  large  in  Chinese  commerce  is  the  mediator, 
known  as  the  compr adore,  or  “go-between.”  The  go- 
between  is  not  simply  the  middleman  of  the  Western 
world.  In  addition  to  making  sales,  first,  he  serves 
the  purposes  accomplished  by  advertising  in  the  West, 
making  known  to  the  limited  group  of  men  with  whom 
he  deals  the  new  styles  and  as  nearly  as  possible  the 
value  of  the  goods  which  the  manufacturer  or  importer 
has  to  sell.  Second,  he  serves  as  a Chinese  Bradstreet, 
giving  the  banker,  manufacturer,  or  importer  infor- 
mation as  to  the  success  and  honesty  of  the  merchant 
who  wishes  accommodation.  Especially  is  the  compra- 
dore  of  importance  in  dealings  between  foreign  firms 
and  the  Chinese,  tiis  importance  is  not  limited  to  his 
services  as  an  advertiser  and  as  a confidential  agent 


COMMERCIAL  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


95 


of  both  parties.  Third,  he  is  a real  mediator  between 
them,  bringing  each  man  to  look  at  the  common  prob- 
lem from  the  other  man’s  point  of  view,  and  thus 
bringing  the  parties  together.  From  the  earliest  his- 
tory of  China  the  go-between,  or  mediator,  has  been 
a recognized  factor  in  almost  all  marriage  contracts, 
such  a person  being  able  to  present  the  mutual  qualifi- 
cations of  the  young  people  and  the  value  of  the  alli- 
ance to  the  respective  families  better  than  each  family 
could  present  its  own  claims.  The  go-between  some- 
times aids  in  making  the  selection  of  young  people  for 
marriage  as  well  as  in  bringing  about  a union.  Just 
as  a bishop  is  a mediator  between  pastors  and 
churches,  often  selecting  one  for  the  other  and  always 
striving  to  maintain  mutually  helpful  relations  between 
them,  so  in  many  large  business  transactions,  and 
especially  government  affairs,  the  go-between  in  the 
Far  East  occupies  something  of  the  relation  of  the 
bishop  in  the  Western  church  world.  The  finest  defini- 
tion we  have  ever  heard  of  the  Japanese  Genro,  or 
Elder  Statesmen,  characterized  them  as  “The  Bishops 
of  Japan,”  and  defined  their  function  as  that  of  medi- 
ators between  the  sovereign  upon  the  one  side,  and  the 
Parliament  and  the  people  upon  the  other  side.  This 
has  been  in  some  measure  also  the  service  which  the 
recognized  advisers  of  the  emperor  and  the  Board  of 
Censors  have  rendered  in  China.  We  are  inclined  to 
think  that  in  some  form  this  mediator  will  remain  a 
lasting  factor  of  business  and  political  life  in  the  Far 
East.  Does  not  the  appointment  of  commissions  in  the 
United  States  like  the  Railway  Commission,  which 
has,  not  only  the  judicial  power  to  arbitrate  between 


I 


96  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


contending  parties,  but  the  legislative  power  to  make 
new  rules  and  new  rates  between  the  railways  and  the 
people,  indicate  an  approach  by  Western  peoples  to  the 
mediatorial  principle  which  has  been  employed  for 
many  centuries  in  China?  Certainly,  the  Chinese 
mediator,  or  go-between,  is  one  of  the  causes  of  the 
commercial  supremacy  of  the  Chinese  in  every  neutral 
port  of  the  Far  East. 

Friends  of  China  hope  that  her  population  will  not 
multiply  as  rapidly  as  her  industry  and  trade  seem 
destined  to  increase,  and  the  people  thus  continue  to 
live  upon  the  verge  of  starvation.  But  we  may  antici- 
pate a large  increase  of  industry  and  commerce,  of 
wealth  and  population.  If  Christianity  strengthens 
Chinese  business  capacity  by  undergirding  it  with  the 
added  moral  power  of  godliness ; if  a proper  system  of 
steam  and  electrical  transportation  relieves  ten  to  fif- 
teen per  cent  of  her  men  from  burden-bearing  and 
turns  them  into  productive  industries ; if  China  adopts 
a single  standard  for  her  currency  and  a scientific  sys- 
tem of  weights  and  measures;  if  in  addition  to  the  pro- 
ducts of  her  fields  she  develops  her  almost  untouched 
resources  and  her  unrealized  water  power;  if  steam 
and  electricity  and  the  countless  inventions  of  the 
Western  world  are  utilized,  the  Chinese  will  become 
a people  to  be  reckoned  with  before  the  close  of  the 
twentieth  century  and  ever  after. 

Books  for  Reference 

The  same  as  for  the  preceding  chapter. 


CHAPTER  IV 


EDUCATIONAL  LIFE  IN  CHINA 

I.  Advantages  Inhering  in  the  Chinese  System 
OF  Education 

i.  Chinese  Education.  Chinese  education  is  the 
oldest  system  of  government  education  known  to  his- 
tory. The  schools  described  under  the  early  feudal 
period,  B.  C.  2357-1122,  were  state  schools.  Of  these 
earliest  ages  Professor  James  Legge  says,  “Education 
was  state-conducted.”  ^ Williams  says : “The  impor- 
tance of  generally  instructing  the  people  was  acknowl- 
edged even  before  the  time  of  Confucius  (B.  C.  551) 
and  practiced  to  a good  degree  at  an  age  when  other 
nations  in  the  world  had  no  such  system.  ...  It  is 
said  in  the  Book  of  Rites,  B.  C.  1200,  ‘That  for  the 
purposes  of  education  among  the  ancients,  villages  had 
their  schools,  districts  their  academies,  departments 
their  colleges,  and  principalities  their  universities. 
This,  so  far  as  we  know,  was  altogether  superior  to 
what  obtained  among  the  Jews,  Persians  and  Syrians 
of  the  same  period.’  ” ^ Under  the  Shang  dynasty, 
B.  C.  1766-1122,  there  was  a minister  of  instruction, 
and  we  read  of  a classification  of  officials  according  to 
their  grades  of  ability.^  Professor  Giles  writes,  “The 
Chows  [dynasty  founded  B.  C.  1122]  established  a 

* The  Chinese  Classics,  vol.  i,  p.  230. 

‘Williams,  S.  Wells:  The  Middle  Kingdom,  Vol.  i,  pp.  519,  520. 

’ Wemer,  E.  T.  C.:  Descriptive  Sociology  of  the  Chinese,  p.  53,  col.  2. 

97 


98  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

university,  the  shadow  of  which  remains  to  the  present 
day.”  * If  we  may  depend  upon  these  earliest  records, 
the  schools  continued  to  be  supported  by  the  state  from 
the  Shang  dynasty,  B.  C.  1766,  down  to  A,  D.  706, 
that  is,  for  some  twenty-five  hundred  years. 

2.  Uniform  Curriculum.  The  second  advantage 
of  the  Chinese  system  of  education  is  its  uniform  cur- 
riculum based  upon  the  Chinese  Classics.  When  the 
Chinese  records  become  entirely  historical,  some  eight 
hundred  years  before  Christ,  we  find  that  the  multipli- 
cation table,  arithmetic,  geometry,  with  a knowledge 
of  the  properties  of  the  right-angled  triangle,  and  the 
elements  of  trigonometry  were  studied.  The  abacus 
for  making  calculations,  sun  dials,  instruments  for 
measuring  distances,  and  the  clepsydra  were  in  use.® 
But  the  principal  course  of  study  in  the  early  cur- 
riculum was  probably  the  Chinese  Classics.  It  is 
well  known  that  Confucius  (B.  C.  551-478)  made  a 
compilation  of  these  with  some  editorial  notes,  and 
that  this  edition  was  used  in  the  schools  soon  after  his 
death,  and  has  constituted  a large  part  of  the  course 
of  study  from  that  time  to  the  present.®  It  is  alto- 
gether probable  that  the  Classics  were  studied  long 
before  the  time  of  Confucius  and  that  the  honor  paid 
to  them  by  scholars  was  the  motive  which  led  Con- 
fucius to  edit  them.  If  they  were  taught  only  from 
the  time  of  Confucius,  they  would  constitute  the  bulk 
of  the  Chinese  course  of  study  for  twenty-five  hundred 
years.  We  have  an  impressive  testimony  to  the  high 
estimate  in  which  they  were  held  in  the  fact  that  when 


* Giles,  Herbert  A.:  Historic  China,  p.  ii. 

^Werner,  E.  T,  C.:  Descriptive  Sociology  of  the  Chinese,  Table  II,  col,  23. 
•See  Appendix  VI,  "Courses  of  Study  in  China.” 


EDUCATIONAL  LIFE  IN  CHINA  99 


the  schools  ceased  to  be  supported  by  the  Government 
in  A.  D.,  706,  the  classical  course  of  study  had  such  a 
hold  upon  the  people  that  the  private  schools  continued 
to  teach  them  as  faithfully  as  the  government  schools 
had  done.  It  is  difficult  to  overestimate  the  value  of 
a uniform  curriculum  accepted  by  every  school  in  the 
nation  for  over  twenty-five  hundred  years  in  creating 
uniformity  in  language  and  a uniform  type  of  civiliza- 
tion. 

3.  Democratic  Character  of  System.  One  other 
striking  advantage  of  the  Chinese  education  is  its 
democratic  character.  Wu  Wang,  founder  of  the 
Chow  dynasty,  B.  C.  1122,  ordered  that  in  admitting 
students  to  degrees,  including  the  highest,  no  distinc- 
tion should  be  made  between  high  and  low,  rich  and 
poor.  His  own  son,  the  heir  to  the  throne,  was  edu- 
cated at  one  of  these  schools  like  the  son  of  a common 
laborer.’  We  find  a notice  of  vacations  of  forty-five 
days  in  order  that  the  land  might  be  prepared  for  cul- 
tivation. This  indicates  that  the  schools  were  patron- 
ized not  only  by  the  sons  of  scholars  and  of  wealthy 
men  but  by  boys  who  were  obliged  to  engage  in  phys- 
ical labor  during  the  farming  season.  Not  only  were 
the  schools  democratic  in  their  admission  of  students 
of  all  classes,  but  the  government  was  democratic  in 
its  appointment  of  scholars  to  public  office.  “Regular 
promotions  according  to  merit,  determined  by  exam- 
inations, were  established  not  only  for  admission  to 
the  higher  schools  but  for  admission  to  administrative 
offices.” *  * In  A.  D.  177  Ling  Tu  made  appointments 

’ Hirth,  Friedrich:  The  Ancient  History  of  China,  p.  99. 

• Biot,  Edouard:  Essai  sur  I’Histoire  de  ITnstruction  Publique  en  Chine, 
P-  34- 


loo  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


to  all  civil  offices  dependent  on  passing  the  govern- 
ment examinations.  These  government-supported 
schools,  apparently  open  to  all  the  children  of  the 
nation  and  leading  to  promotions  in  civil  life,  formed 
the  most  democratic  system  of  education  found  in  any 
nation  outside  of  the  United  States,  and  the  Chinese 
system  antedated  the  American  school  system  by  more 
than  three  thousand  years. 

4.  Its  Practical  Character.  Another  great  ad- 
vantage, not  of  the  scholastic  system,  but  of  the  actual 
training  of  Chinese  boys  and  girls,  is  its  practical 
character.  While  the  schools,  so  long  as  they  were 
supported  by  the  government,  that  is,  down  to  A.  D. 
706,  were  with  few  exceptions  open  to  all  bo)^s,  never- 
theless the  Chinese  never  have  sought  book  learning 
as  an  end  in  itself.  While  they  have  deemed  a knowl- 
edge of  reading,  writing,  arithmetic,  etc.,  desirable, 
yet  they  have  not  deemed  it  essential  to  send  to  school 
a boy  who  was  destined  for  work  on  a farm  or  in  a 
shop  any  more  than  we  have  deemed  it  essential  to 
send  such  a boy  to  a law  school  or  a medical  school. 
Consequently,  the  overwhelming  mass  of  the  Chinese 
are  almost  destitute  of  any  scholastic  training.  This 
does  not  imply  that  the  common  people  have  no  edu- 
cation whatever.  If  Bacon’s  maxim,  “Teach  the  boy 
when  young  that  which  he  must  practice  when  he  is 
grown,”  is  a wise  one,  then  every  Chinese  child  has 
some  practical  education.  Industrially,  China  has 
been  until  recently,  and  she  is  yet  largely,  in  the  stage 
of  hand  labor.  This  stage  demands  a larger  amount 
of  human  effort  than  the  stage  of  machine  labor;  but 
the  hand  labor  required  is  so  simple  that  children  can 


EDUCATIONAL  LIFE  IN  CHINA  loi 


join  in  rendering  it.  Hence  in  China  all  the  children, 
save  the  few  who  are  sent  to  school,  are  expected  to 
assist  their  parents  in  their  daily  work.  Moreover, 
farming  in  China,  in  which  the  majority  of  the  people 
are  engaged,  is  a specialized  industry,  like  market 
gardening  or  fruit  raising  in  Europe  and  America. 
These  two  facts  account  for  the  large  amount  of  prac- 
tical training  which  the  masses  of  common  people 
possess.  Professor  Parker  writes  in  the  following 
strain  of  their  native  skill:  “We  talk  about  Jack  be- 
ing a ‘handy  man’;  he  is  nothing  to  the  Chinaman. 
The  usual  exceptions  excepted,  every  Chinese  knows 
the  time  without  a watch ; can,  at  a pinch,  buy,  prepare, 
and  cook  his  own  food;  wash,  patch,  if  not  make  his 
own  clothes;  judge  the  weather;  till  the  fields;  carry 
a pole  and  its  load;  indicate  the  north;  maneuver  a 
punt;  sail  a boat;  catch  fish,  saddle  a horse;  tackle 
animals,  birds,  and  reptiles  of  all  kinds  under  unex- 
pected circumstances;  walk  or  ride  long  distances; 
sleep  anywhere  at  any  moment ; take  no  exercise  what- 
ever for  any  length  of  time;  ...  do  anything;  go 
anywhere ; remain  without  a change,  and  other  things 
innumerable.”  ^ 

As  every  Chinese  trader  so  far  as  possible  makes  the 
goods  which  he  sells,  and  as  most  manufacturing  is 
by  hand  labor,  there  is  work  for  the  boy,  not  only  on 
every  farm  but  in  every  shop  and  in  almost  every  store 
in  China.  Even  in  Chinese  banks,  which  are  often 
pawnshops,  in  money-changers’  stalls,  one  often  sees 
lads  making  the  change  and  transacting  the  routine 
business  under  the  father’s  eye.  Often  the  industrial 


• Parker,  E.  H.,  China,  Her  History,  Diplomacy,  and  Commerce,  p.  278. 


102  CHINA;  AN  INTERPRETATION 


training  received  in  China  is  crude;  but  there  is  an 
art  to  be  mastered  even  in  carrying  upon  one’s 
shoulders  a pole  with  a load  at  each  end,  shifting  the 
load  while  walking,  acquiring  the  trotting  gait  of  the 
burden-bearer,  and  traveling  thus  heavy  laden  twenty- 
five  to  thirty  miles  a day.  In  view  of  the  almost  uni- 
versal industrial  training,  China  more  fully  than  any 
other  nation  illustrates  Bacon’s  maxim  cited  above. 
This  maxim  has  grave  intellectual  limitations.  Never- 
theless, when  the  physical  tasks  are  not  too  heavy,  the 
freedom  from  intellectual  strain  and  the  life  and  exer- 
cise in  the  open  air  contribute  to  physical  vigor.  More- 
over, training  under  the  supervision  of  parents  whp, 
in  addition  to  natural  affection,  have  every  motive 
for  wise  instruction  in  the  fact  that  they  are  to  spend 
their  lives  with  their  children  and  their  declining  }^ears 
in  dependence  upon  them ; the  common  life  in  the  open 
with  small  opportunity  for  vice;  the  frequent  custom 
of  the  village  teacher  to  read  aloud  proclamations, 
newspapers,  and  books;  the  democratic  spirit  of  the 
Chinese  which  leads  master  and  workmen  to  eat  to- 
gether and  to  discuss  in  common  the  problems  of  the 
business — all  these  combined,  keep  the  number  of  de- 
generates in  China  down  to  the  minimum,  result  in 
the  more  general  spread  of  ordinary  knowledge  than 
would  seem  possible  among  an  illiterate  people,  and 
lead  to  a comparatively  high  level  of  efficiency  in  the 
art  of  earning  a living  and  maintaining  the  existing 
civilization. 

It  should  be  added  that  this  industrial  training 
includes  girls  as  well  as  boys,  women  from  the  earliest 
ages  acquiring  a rude  skill  in  housekeeping,  in  the  care 


EDUCATIONAL  LIFE  IN  CHINA  103 


of  children,  and  in  the  domestic  arts  generally,  and 
an  unusual  skill  in  hatching  silk  worms,  spinning  and 
weaving,  embroidery,  etc.  So  evident  are  the  advan- 
tages of  industrial  training  that  ultimately  it  will  be- 
come an  integral  part  of  the  educational  system  of 
every  nation.  We  have  thus  found  four  marked 
advantages  in  the  system  of  Chinese  education:  first, 
education  supported  by  the  government  from  the  time 
when  “the  memory  of  man  runneth  not  to  the  con- 
trary” down  to  A.  D.  706;  second,  education  based 
upon  the  Classics  contributing  greatly  to  the  unifica- 
tion of  the  language  and  civilization  of  China;  third, 
education  open  to  all  and  conducted  in  a democratic 
spirit,  followed  by  advancement  to  the  higher  degrees 
and  to  government  offices;  fourth,  a system  of  thor- 
oughly practical  training  for  all. 

II.  Dangers  Inhering  in  the  Chinese  System  of 

Education 

i.  The  Private  Nature  of  Chinese  Education. 
A serious  revolution  in  Chinese  education  was  inaug- 
urated in  A.  D.  706  when  an  imperial  edict  caused 
the  salaries  of  the  teachers  to  be  paid  by  the  pupils 
instead  of  by  the  state.  This  marked  a fundamental 
change  in  the  methods  by  which  education  was  to  be 
supported  in  China.  The  government  still  controlled 
education  after  it  ceased  to  support  it,  because  it  pre- 
scribed the  examinations  which  every  student  must 
pass  in  order  to  secure  an  office,  and  a teacher  of  a 
private  school  was  sure  to  teach  the  subjects  which 
would  help  his  students  most  speedily  to  a government 
position.  Private  education  is  necessarily  more  nar- 


104  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


row  in  the  range  of  subjects  taught  than  is  education 
at  government  expense.  Moreover,  private  education 
interferes  far  more  fully  than  does  government  educa- 
tion with  the  independence  of  the  teacher,  makes  him 
subject  to  the  caprice  of  the  student,  lessens  the  rever- 
ence due  his  office  and  his  character,  turns  him  into 
the  hired  man  of  his  patrons,  and  results  in  education 
being  put  upon  a commercial  basis  and  used  for  per- 
sonal gain  the  same  as  any  other  trade. 

2.  Corruption.  A second  and  far  more  serious 
defect  in  Chinese  education  arose  from  the  corruption 
growing  out  of  the  connection  between  private  educa- 
tion and  official  life.  In  B.  C.  243  a most  unfortunate 
precedent  in  education  was  established.  Locusts  and 
pestilence  visited  the  land  and  many  of  the  poorer 
people  perished.  To  help  relieve  the  distress,  the  first 
degree,  admitting  to  the  lowest  literary  rank,  was 
openly  sold  for  a contribution  of  one  hundred  and 
seventy-seven  pounds  of  rice  for  famine  relief.  We 
find  another  record  of  the  open  sale  of  degrees  in 
B.  C.  123.^®  In  A.  D.  177  an  imperial  decree  was 
issued  ordering  that  only  those  holding  literary  de- 
grees be  appointed  to  political  office.  In  A.  D.  178 
and  again  in  198  we  read  of  offices  being  sold  to  the 
graduates  of  colleges  at  a fixed  price.  This  sale  of 
degrees  and  of  offices  has  continued  to  a greater  or 
less  extent  down  to  the  present  day  and  has  been  one 
of  the  prime  causes  of  political  corruption  in  China, 
because  only  men  with  degrees  were  eligible  to  office 
and  those  who  bought  degrees  resorted  to  official  cor- 
ruption to  recoup  their  purchase  money.  In  A.  D.  627 


w Faber,  Ernst:  Chronological  Handbook  of  the  History  of  China,  p.  43. 


EDUCATIONAL  LIFE  IN  CHINA  105 

the  decree  limiting  political  offices  to  those  holding 
literary  degrees  was  made  much  more  stringent.  At 
the  same  time  the  government  limited  the  number  of 
literary  degrees  which  could  be  conferred  in  a single 
year  to  approximately  one  per  cent  of  the  candidates. 
The  great  value  of  the  degree  made  candidates  willing 
not  only  to  prepare  for  the  examinations  but  to  pay 
for  the  degree.  A further  development  of  this  cor- 
ruption is  recorded  in  A.  D.  729,  when  the  number 
of  doctors’  degrees  which  could  be  given  in  any  single 
year  was  limited  to  one  hundred.  The  fact  that  many 
more  than  one  hundred  men  completed  the  first  and 
second  degrees  and  prepared  for  the  examination  for 
the  doctor’s  degree  led  to  the  degree  being  given  to 
those  candidates  who  in  addition  to  passing  the  exam- 
inations paid  the  largest  sums  for  the  degree.  Here 
is  the  root  of  one  of  the  grave  evils  which  long  has 
blighted  China.  In  Great  Britain  knighthood  and 
other  civil  honors  usually  are  conferred  in  return  for 
distinguished  work  in  science  or  distinguished  service 
rendered  to  the  nation  and  humanity.  But  we  are  told 
that  sometimes  these  honors  have  been  conferred  in 
return  for  large  contributions  to  the  party  exchequer. 
In  United  States  also  there  was  a time  when  medical 
and  advanced  literary  degrees  were  practically  sold 
by  a few  falsely  called  institutions  of  learning.  But 
the  revenue  from  the  sale  of  titles  and  literary  degrees 
in  all  Western  lands  combined  has  been  infinitesimal 
as  compared  with  the  corruption  in  connection  with 
their  sale  in  China. 

3.  Inherent  Conservatism.  A third  defect  in  the 
educational  system  of  the  Chinese  was  its  inherent  con- 


io6  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


servatism.  This  is  due  to  two  causes : first,  to  the  con- 
servative tendency  of  education  in  general ; and, 
second,  to  the  connection  between  education  and  offi- 
cial life  in  China.  One  great  advantage  of  knowledge 
is  the  dangers  it  enables  one  to  avoid.  A baby  will 
thrust  its  hand  into  the  flame;  an  ignorant  child  will 
eat  noxious  fruit  if  it  is  attractive,  will  drink  infected 
water,  expose  itself  to  disease.  One  of  the  first  effects 
of  education  is  the  tendency  toward  carefulness  which 
it  develops.  Again,  education,  in  the  very  nature  of 
the  case,  consists  largely  in  teaching  children  the  lan- 
guage, literature,  the  discoveries,  inventions  and  deeds 
of  ancestors.  The  more  advanced  the  education,  the 
more  it  steeps  to  the  lips  the  students  in  the  literature, 
history,  and  philosophy  of  the  past.  As  men  prize 
that  which  they  have  mastered,  students  naturally 
grow  to  reverence  that  which  they  have  learned. 
Moreover,  history  makes  students,  and  especially  ad- 
vanced students,  familiar  with  countless  schemes  of 
reform  which  seemed  very  attractive  on  paper  but 
which  failed  in  operation.  Hence  one  marked  ten- 
dency of  scholarship  is  toward  conservatism ; and  con- 
servatism is  born  of  skepticism,  especially  of  skepti- 
cism in  regard  to  any  new  and  radical  action  not  in 
conformity  with  accepted  standards.  Thus,  educa- 
tion, with  its  training  in  classical  literature  and  in 
reverence  for  institutions  which  are  old,  with  its  knowl- 
edge of  the  countless  failures  of  reform  schemes,  and 
its  recognition  that  the  highest  ideals  have  seldom 
found  embodiment  in  reality,  tends,  in  general,  toward 
timidity  and  conservatism.  The  marked  exceptions 
to  this  rule  are  the  scientific  schools  of  the  West; 


EDUCATIONAL  LIFE  IN  CHINA  107 


and  these  through  reaction  against  a priori  theolog- 
ical views  and  through  being  engrossed  in  material 
studies  have  tended  toward  skepticism  and  material- 
ism. The  schools  of  Egypt  rejected  Moses,  the  schools 
of  Greece  rejected  Socrates,  the  schools  of  the  scribes 
and  Pharisees  rejected  Jesus  and  Paul,  the  univer- 
sities of  Europe  -in  most  cases  opposed  the  Reforma- 
tion, the  leaders  of  the  church  in  Rome  forced  Gali- 
leo to  recant,  the  universities  of  France  opposed  the 
French  Revolution,  the  University  of  Oxford  rejected 
Methodism  but  nursed  the  Anglo-Catholic  reactionary 
movement,  and  trained  the  conservatives  who  opposed 
the  Reform  Bill.  With  rare  exceptions  the  univer- 
sities and  colleges  of  America  opposed  the  anti-slavery 
agitation;  and  they  are  not  prominent  in  the  present 
attempt  to  secure  national  prohibition,  or  in  the  re- 
forms demanded  in  the  relations  between  capital  and 
labor,  or  in  extending  equal  political  rights  to  women. 

But  in  no  other  country  has  education  been  so  con- 
servative a force  as  in  China.  While  conservatism 
inheres  in  all  higher  education.  Occidental  as  well  as 
Oriental,  nevertheless  the  breadth  of  Western  culture, 
the  fact  that  in  no  Western  nation  has  scholarship 
been  regarded  as  a profession  and  been  made  the  test 
of  office-holding,  the  deepening  conviction  that  educa- 
tion is  a boon  conferred  by  the  state  and  therefore  to 
be  used  for  the  good  of  all,  and,  above  all,  the  scientific 
spirit  and  Christian  and  moral  character  of  Western 
education,  have  saved  scholarship  from  undue  reac- 
tion. University  training  has  made  educators  in  gen- 
eral the  conservators  of  civilization.  In  the  case  of 
original  minds,  strong  enough  to  maintain  their 


io8  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


prophetic  cast  in  spite  of  learning,  the  higher  educa- 
tion has  furnished  the  mental  discipline  and  the  wide 
knowledge  of  the  struggles  and  the  dangers  of  reform 
which  have  enabled  them  to  become  the  leaders  in 
the  progress  of  mankind.  But  in  China,  in  addition 
to  the  conservative  tendency  of  education,  the  govern- 
ment adopted  an  arrangement  which  inevitably  put 
almost  all  the  recognized  scholars  upon  the  side  of  the 
existing  order.  With  a curriculum  which  consisted 
almost  wholly  of  the  Classics,  and  which  demanded 
that  reverence,  and  even  worship,  be  paid  to  Con- 
fucius, the  government  has  made  official  life  dependent 
upon  scholarship ; and  China  has  had  substantially  for 
two  thousand  years,  and  certainly  for  thirteen  hun- 
dred years,  an  aristocracy  of  learning  with  all  the 
honors  and  emoluments  of  the  government  at  the  dis- 
posal of  this  class.  The  strongest  scholars  in  China 
have  been  led  for  centuries  to  uphold  the  existing 
order  because  their  own  honors  and  support  were 
involved  in  its  maintenance.  To  ask’ a member  of  the 
Hanlin  to  attack  the  government  was  like  asking  a 
Liberal,  a Republican,  or  a Democrat  to  destroy  his 
party  in  the  interest  of  reform,  or  a churchman  to 
destroy  his  church,  at  the  very  time  when  he  is  admin- 
istering the  party  or  the  church,  and  when  it  is  the 
source  of  all  his  wealth,  his  honors,  and  his  influence. 
This  exclusive  exaltation  of  the  learned  class  has  done 
more  to  enlist  the  talents  of  China’s  learned  men  in  the 
interest  of  conservatism  and  to  check  intellectual  free- 
dom than  any  other  system  of  education  ever  devised. 
Contrast  the  aristocracy  of  learning  in  China  with  the 
aristocracy  of  blood  in  Europe,  and  the  rising  aris- 


EDUCATIONAL  LIFE  IN  CHINA  icx) 


tocracy  of  wealth  in  the  Western  world,  and  one  must 
recognize  that  the  Chinese  aristocracy  was  the  most 
subtle  in  its  influence,  had  the  strongest  grip,  and  was 
the  most  far-reaching  of  the  three,  and  that  it  was 
wholly  devoted  to  conservatism.  Through  this  con- 
servatism, China  turned  her  face  from  the  future  to 
the  past,  forfeited  her  opportunity,  stunted  her  de- 
velopment, and  lost  the  leadership  of  the  world. 

III.  The  Future  of  Chinese  Education 

For  a clear  view  of  the  probable  future  development 
of  Chinese  education  we  must  gain  a little  fuller  knowl- 
edge of  its  history.^^  In  A.  D.  192  in  addition  to 
the  examinations  in  the  classics,  competitive  exam- 
inations were  established  in  family  law  and  in  A.  D. 
243  examinations  were  added  in  morals  and  in  proper 
official  conduct.  We  catch  the  spirit  of  one  of  the 
nobler  teachers  from  the  following  story  recorded  in 
A.  D.  387.  A student  came  a long  distance  to  hear  a 
Sage  discourse  on  wisdom.  His  face  showed  such  an 
interest  that  at  the  close  of  the  public  lecture  the  Sage 
called  him  and  asked  if  he  could  do  any  more  for  him. 
The  student  answered  that  he  had  been  greatly  profited 
and  stirred  by  the  Sage’s  wisdom  and  that  he  was 
eager  to  ask  more  questions,  but  that  it  was  entirely 
improper  for  a poor  student  to  weary  a Sage  with 
foolish  questions.  The  Sage  replied,  “Does  the  mirror 
grow  weary  of  reflecting  images?”  A finer  illustra- 
tion of  the  value  of  education  is  found  in  the  story  of 
Mencius’  mother  narrated  in  Appendix  VI. 

“ For  the  cotorse  of  study  which  has  been  taught  for  the  last  seven  hundred 
years,  and  in  part  for  two  thousand  years,  see  Appendix  VI. 


no  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


The  precession  of  equinoxes  was  discovered  between 
A.  D,  loo  and  200;  and  in  A.  D.  301  the  first  un- 
doubted observation  of  sun  spots  was  recorded.  Med- 
ical studies  occupied  a considerable  place  in  the  school 
curriculum  of  China  at  dififerent  times.  A knowledge 
of  botany,  of  medicine,  and  of  human  anatomy  existed 
as  early  as  B.  C.  540.  The  Caesarian  operation  is 
recorded  as  having  been  performed  in  A.  D.  285.  In 
the  twelfth  century  A.  D.  inoculation  for  smallpox  and 
the  operation  for  the  removal  of  cataracts  from  the 
eyes  are  recorded.^^ 

The  Chinese  Classics  were  cut  on  wooden  blocks  and 
printed  A.  D.  926  to  933,  thus  antedating  by  five  hun- 
dred years  the  printing  of  the  Bible  (A.  D.  1450  to 
1455 ) This  early  discovery  of  block  printing  by  the 
Chinese  and  its  use  not  only  in  printing  the  Classics 
but  also  other  books,  helps  account  for  China’s  intel- 
lectual supremacy  over  Europe  from  the  downfall  of 
Greek  and  Roman  culture  to  the  time  of  the  Reforma- 
tion. In  the  Far  East  The  Chinese  Classics,  the  great 
book  of  the  past,  appeared;  in  Europe,  the  Bible — 
the  great  book  of  the  future.  In  A.  D.  1492  China 
was  collecting  rare  volumes  glorifying  the  past; 
Columbus  was  discovering  America  and  laying  the 
foundation  for  the  future  of  the  Western  races. 

In  A.  D.  606  the  doctor’s  degree  was  added  to  the 
literary  degrees  already  existing,  and  from  that  day 
to  the  present  three  literary  degrees  have  been  con- 
ferred in  China  corresponding  somewhat  roughly  to 
our  bachelor’s,  master’s,  and  doctor’s  degrees;  they 


12  Werner,  E.  T.  C.:  Descriptive  Sociology  of  the  Chinese,  Table  VI,  col.  23. 
'•Ibid.,  Table  V,  col.  28. 


EDUCATIOXAL  LIFE  IN  CHINA  iii 


required  perhaps  more  memoriter  work,  but  less  de- 
velopment of  the  reasoning  powers  than  do  our  West- 
ern degrees.  In  addition  to  these  degrees  there  is 
another  degree,  or  at  least  an  honor,  which  consists  in 
the  election  to  membership  in  the  Hanlin  Academy. 
This  is  an  election  for  life,  carries  with  it  a salary, 
and  is  usually  followed  by  some  political  appointment. 

Between  1644  and  1900,  through  contact  with  for- 
eign nations,  education  became  more  widely  diffused, 
and  Western  learning  was  slowly  introduced  into 
China.  The  Jesuits  introduced  scientific  training;  and 
the  Protestant  missionaries,  by  the  establishment  of 
primary,  intermediate,  high  schools,  and  colleges,  laid 
the  foundations  for  a system  of  public  education.  Both 
Protestant  and  Roman  Catholic  schools  include  por- 
tions of  the  Chinese  Classics  in  the  courses  of  study. 
The  Chino- Japanese  war  of  1894-95  and  the  Boxer 
Uprising  of  1900  awakened  China  more  fully  and  gave 
an  impetus  to  Western  learning.  Dr.  W.  A.  P.  Martin 
was  called  as  educational  and  general  adviser  by 
Chang  Chih-tung  at  Wuchang,  Dr.  Timothy  Richard 
to  the  presidency  of  the  University  of  Shansi  at  Tai 
Yuen  Fu  and  Dr.  W.  M.  Hayes  to  the  presidency  of 
the  Shantung  Provincial  College  at  Tsinanfu.  In  1901 
an  imperial  decree  ordered,  in  addition  to  the  universi- 
ties, a junior  college  at  the  capital  of  each  province,  a 
middle  (high)  school  at  each  prefectural  capital,  ah 
intermediate  school  at  each  hsien  (county)  capital, 
and  a primary  school  in  every  village — a worthy  edu- 
cational program,  but,  like  many  other  noble  ideals, 
existing  mainly  on  paper.  In  1903  an  edict  was  issued 
ordering  the  abolition  within  ten  years  of  the  old  sys- 


1 12  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


tern  of  examinations  for  officials,  and  in  1905  Yuan 
Shill  Kai  and  Chang  Chih-tung  secured  a decree  sum- 
marily abolishing  the  old  system  and  providing  for  a 
new  system  to  go  into  immediate  effect.  Very  wisely, 
however,  this  order  permitted  all  who  held  degrees 
granted  under  the  old  system  to  continue  as  officials. 
In  addition  to  Yuan  Shih  Kai  and  Chang  Chih-tung, 
Chou  Fu,  Chao  Ehr  Hsun,  Tuan  Fang,  and  Chen  Tsun 
Hsuan  were  leaders  in  these  reforms.  A commission 
was  appointed  to  devise  a system  of  education  along 
Western  lines.  The  new  system  includes  arithmetic, 
geography,  history,  and  a considerable  portion  of  the 
Classics.  After  the  establishment  of  the  republic,  the 
first  National  Educational  Conference  ever  held  in 
China  met  in  Peking  July  12,  to  August  11,  1912, 
under  the  presidency  of  Wang  Shao-lien,  and  adopted 
the  following  arrangement  of  courses  of  study  which 
the  government,  September  5,  1912,  approved  and 
promulgated. 

(1)  Lower  Primary  School,  compulsory — four 
years’  course. 

(2)  Higher  Primary  School — three  years’  course. 

(3)  Middle  School — four  years’  course. 

(4)  Preparatory  School  or  Junior  College — three 
years’  course. 

(5)  College  and  Professional  Schools — three 
or  four  years’  course. 

This  curriculum  provides  for  eleven  years  up  to  the 
entrance  to  the  junior  college,  instead  of  twelve,  as  in 
the  United  States.  The  difference  is  due  to  China’s 
attempt  to  model  her  school  system  after  that  of  Ger- 
many. The  Junior  College  corresponds  to  the  German 


EDUCATIONAL  LIFE  IN  CHINA  113 


gymnasium.  It  extends  through  three  years,  while  a 
professional  course,  or  the  arts  course  proper,  requires 
three  or  four  years  more  for  its  completion.  There 
are  also  normal  and  industrial  schools.  The  convention 
of  1912  appointed  a commission  to  devise  an  alphabet 
in  order  to  save  the  large  amount  of  time  now  required 
of  children  for  the  mastery  of  the  Chinese  characters. 

The  statistics  for  1912  showed  57,267  government 
schools  of  all  classes,  with  1,626,529  pupils  in  attend- 
ance— a small  attendance  for  331,000,000  people,  but 
a good  beginning  of  education  by  the  government.  It 
must  be  remembered  that  China  relied  entirely  upon 
private  schools  from  A.  D.  706  to  1905,  the  govern- 
ment conducting  the  examinations  and  encouraging 
education  by  limiting  office-holding  to  men  possessing 
degrees.  No  statistics  of  these  private  schools  are 
available;  but  tens  of  thousands  of  them  are  still  in 
existence  in  China  and  they  are  training  many-fold 
more  pupils  than  are  the  government  schools  so  re- 
cently established. 

In  addition  to  the  large  number  of  private  schools 
and  a comparatively  small  number  of  government 
schools,  Protestant  IMissions  had  in  China  in  1914, 
3,736  schools  with  104,986  scholars  in  attendance. 
The  Roman  Catholics,  largely  under  the  direction  of 
the  French,  had  at  the  same  time  8,034  schools  with 
132,850  pupils  in  attendance.  The  mission  schools, 
with  their  Western  learning  and  modern  pedagogical 
methods  and  their  strong  emphasis  upon  moral  cul- 
ture, are  in  some  measure  setting  the  standard  of  edu- 
cation for  the  nation.  As  to  the  relative  influence  of 
the  various  nations  in  mission  schools,  the  French 


1 14  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


unquestionably  exercise  a large  influence  through  the 
Roman  Catholic  schools.  The  following  are  the  sta- 
tistics of  the  three  leading  nations  in  Protestant  edu- 
cation 

German  Schools  in  China 


Lower  Schools 

Middle  and  Higher. 

164 — Scholars 

15 — Scholars  

. . 4,862 

523 

Total 

179  Total 

• • 5,385 

English  Schools  in  China 

Lower  Schools 

Middle  and  Higher. 

1,445 — Scholars  

241 — Scholars  

• ••  32,303 

• • 7,752 

Total 

1,686  Total 

..  40,055 

American  Schools  in  China 

Lower  Schools 

Middle  and  Higher. 

1,992 — Scholars  

286 — Scholars  

..  44,354 
..  23,040 

Total 

2,278  Total 

• . 67,394 

These  figures  show  that  British  and  Americans  have 
charge  of  3,964  schools  with  107,449  scholars,  and  that 
the  Germans  have  charge  of  179  schools  with  5,385 
pupils ; and  thus  that  the  United  States  decidedly  leads 
both  Great  Britain  and  Germany  in  higher  education. 
Probably  the  Protestant  schools  are  exercising  a 
larger  formative  influence  on  the  nation  and  especially 
upon  the  public  life  of  the  nation  than  are  the  Roman 
Catholic  schools. 

This  review  of  Chinese  education  furnishes  some 
basis  for  a forecast  of  future  development: 

I.  The  future  education  of  the  Chinese  undoubtedly 


Statistics  compiled  by  the  German  Association  of  Shanghai. 


EDUCATIONAL  LIFE  IN  CHINA  115 


will  be  supported  by  the  government  and  will  be  demo- 
cratic in  character.  Only  as  education  is  supported 
liberally  by  the  government  and  offered  freely  to  all 
her  children  can  it  cease  to  be  commercialized  and 
narrow  and  become  comprehensive  in  character,  be 
extended  to  all  the  children  of  the  nation  and  help 
China  reach  her  goal.  If  education  is  offered  freely 
by  the  government  and  becomes  the  general  possession 
of  the  people,  many  educated  reformers  will  arise. 
While  education,  as  already  pointed  out,  naturally 
tends  to  conservatism,  nevertheless  as  a fact  of  his- 
tory education  has  produced  almost  all  the  great 
reformers  of  the  human  race.  Our  statement  of  the 
conservative  influence  of  education  would  be  unjust 
were  we  not  to  recognize,  as  previously  stated,  that  the 
colleges  of  the  Western  world  have  furnished  the 
mental  discipline,  have  developed  the  moral  vigor,  and 
largely  have  been  instrumental  in  the  scientific  dis- 
coveries through  which  the  progress  of  the  world  has 
been  assured.  When  a man  has  the  strength  of  char- 
acter to  profit  by  all  the  mental  discipline  and  knowl- 
edge which  the  university  can  offer  him,  and  at  the 
same  time  maintain  his  ideals  against  all  discourage- 
ments through  historical  knowledge  of  countless  fail- 
ures, and  especially  when  such  a man  finds  his  own 
life  touched  to  higher  issues  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  he 
becomes  the  strongest  possible  reformer.  Moses, 
Isaiah,  Jeremiah,  Plato,  Paul,  Luther,  Calvin,  Zwingli, 
Knox,  Wesley,  Bacon,  Newton,  Galileo,  Gladstone, 
Darwin,  Jefferson,  Hamilton,  the  founders  of  mis- 
sions, the  organizers  of  churches,  the  leaders  of  revo- 
lutions— the  men  who  “have  turned  the  world  upside 


ii6  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


down” — are  in  the  overwhelming  majority  of  cases 
men  of  strong  personality  who  received  their  discipline 
at  the  great  seats  of  learning.  Confucius,  Socrates, 
Shakespeare,  Franklin,  and  Lincoln  are  the  exceptions 
to  the  rule ; and  these  men  became  the  leaders  of  ages 
because  without  the  outer  advantages  of  the  university 
they  possessed  such  sanity  and  balance,  such  indomi- 
table will  and  unconquerable  ideals,  and  they  so  mas- 
tered the  best  literature  of  the  ages  in  which  they  lived, 
that  they  secured  for  themselves  the  advantages  which 
other  men  receive  from  college  training.  Mohammed- 
anism is  the  example  of  a reform  miscarrying  through 
an  exceedingly  strong  leader  remaining  largely  igno- 
rant. The  hope  of  China’s  future  rests  upon  the  adop- 
tion of  universal-  education  maintained  at  government 
expense.  Moreover,  only  universal  education  will 
enable  the  Chinese  children  of  the  twentieth  century 
and  beyond  to  take  their  places  side  by  side  with  the 
children  of  Japan  and  India,  of  Britain  and  Germany 
and  America  as  leaders  in  the  civilization  of  the  world. 

2.  The  second  hope  for  China  lies  in  the  introduc- 
tion of  Western  learning.  This  learning  is  sure  to 
prove  as  revolutionary  in  its  effects  upon  Chinese  insti- 
tutions as  Galileo’s  discovery  of  the  earth’s  revolutions 
and  the  introduction  of  the  doctrine  of  evolution  have 
proved  upon  Western  education.  It  is  simply  impos- 
sible for  China  to  introduce  Western  education  and 
maintain  a despotic  form  of  government.  And  this 
second  hope  already  has  become  a certainty.  The 
Western  learning  is  at  hand,  and  the  mental  revolu- 
tion already  is  in  progress ; and  it  is  as  impossible  for 
any  group  of  men  or  for  any  government  to  check  it 


EDUCATIONAL  LIFE  IN  CHINA  117 

as  it  is  to  push  back  the  tides  or  to  delay  the  advancing 
dawn.  But  along  with  Western  science  China  must 
preserve  the  universal  industrial  training  of  her  chil- 
dren, greatly  broadened  and  enriched  by  the  applied 
sciences  of  the  West.  China  has  a great  lesson  to 
learn  from  the  Western  world  as  to  the  intellectual 
and  scientific  side  of  industrial  training,  but  the 
Western  world  has  a great  lesson  to  learn  from  China 
on  universal  instruction  in  some  form  of  industrial 
training.  At  this  i)oint  Chinese  and  Japanese  educa- 
tion is  more  practical  than  that  of  Western  nations. 

Again,  China  must  either  follow  Japan  or  else  devise 
some  better  plan  for  simplifying  her  characters  and 
constructing  an  alphabet  of  her  own.  After  the  dis- 
covery or  adoption  of  an  alphabet  and  the  universal 
training  of  her  children  in  the  art  of  reading  and 
writing,  China’s  new  educational  program  should 
introduce  a large  amount  of  religious,  industrial,  and 
domestic  training,  modeled  in  some  measure  on  the 
Gary  plan  of  the  United  States  but  carried  beyond  the 
point  to  which  it  is  carried  in  the  Gary  schools. 
Every  boy  and  girl  should  be  trained  in  some  means 
of  earning  a living.  The  domestic  arts,  home-making 
and  scholastic  training  should  be  made  prominent  in 
the  case  of  girls;  and  agricultural,  industrial,  business 
and  scholastic  training  prominent  in  case  of  the  boys. 
Again  China  must  make  a far  larger  use  of  the  press 
for  the  dissemination  of  popular  instruction,  and  she 
must  maintain  through  newspapers,  etc.,  the  intel- 
lectual contact  of  her  people  with  the  Western  world. 
We  are  clear  also  that  China  should  go  further  than 
the  United  States  and  other  Western  nations  and  make 


ii8  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


suffrage  depend  upon  five  conditions:  age,  residence, 
education,  property,  absence  of  a criminal  record. 

3.  The  third  and  by  far  the  largest  hope  for  China  is 
in  Christian  education.  At  this  point  China  can 
pattern  only  in  part  after  the  Western  nations.  If 
she  makes  education  compulsory  and  insists  upon  every 
child  attending  the  government  school,  she  'will  be 
obliged,  like  the  United  States,  either  to  forbid  the 
teaching  of  religion  by  the  public  schools  or  else  she 
will  be  obliged,  like  Germany  and  Great  Britain,  to 
adopt  a state  religion.  Upon  the  whole,  we  believe  the 
former  alternative  is  the  preferable  one.  But  no  can- 
did student  of  education  or  observer  of  the  developing 
life  of  the  United  States  can  be  wholly  satisfied  with 
the  American  system  of  public  education.  In  our 
determination  to  give  no  denominational  instruction 
in  the  public  schools,  members  of  our  American  school 
boards  stand  so  straight  that  they  lean  backward. 
Some  of  our  school  boards  have  forbidden  the  read- 
ing of  the  Bible  or  the  teaching  of  the  Bible  as  lit- 
erature in  the  public  schools.  On  the  other  hand. 
Professor  Huxley,  a scientist  of  the  highest  stand- 
ing, favored  the  systematic  teaching  of  considerable 
portions  of  the  Bible  in  the  public  schools  of  Eng- 
land, not  in  the  interest  of  the  churches,  but  in  the 
interest  of  the  rising  manhood  of  the  nation.  While 
o])enly  professing  agnosticism  in  regard  to  the  divine 
origin  of  the  Bible,  nevertheless  Professor  Huxley 
pronounced  that  Book  “the  unrivaled  instrument 
for  moral  culture  in  possession  of  the  human  race.” 
Properly  edited  portions  of  the  Old  and  New  Testa- 
ments should  be  introduced  into  the  American  pub- 


EDUCATIONAL  LIFE  IN  CHINA  119 

lie  schools  in  order  to  save  the  nation  from  the  in- 
creasing growth  of  crime,  especially  among  young 
people.  In  employing  teachers,  other  qualifications 
being  equal,  school  boards  should  give  the  preference 
to  candidates  of  moral  character,  of  Christian  prin- 
ciples and  of  such  attractive  graces  as  constitute  “the 
beauty  of  holiness.”  State  schools  should  set  aside 
definite  hours  for  religious  and  moral  training  by  such 
types  of  religious  leaders  as  the  parents  may  elect,  and 
give  credit  for  work  done  in  such  Sunday  schools  as 
care  to  secure  teachers  of  intellectual  qualifications 
approved  by  the  state. 

The  fundamental  defect  of  secular  culture  is  that  it 
creates  ideals  which  it  is  impossible  for  man  by  merely 
human  strength  to  realize.  This  is  the  fundamental 
strength  and  weakness  of  all  purely  ethical  teaching, 
as  the  failure  of  the  Confucian  ethics  to  save  China, 
and  of  Greek  and  Roman  culture  to  save  those  West- 
ern nations,  demonstrates.  These  systems  of  ethics 
reveal  ideals  worthy  of  all  commendation.  Confucian- 
ism is  a providential  preparation  of  China  for  Christi- 
anity, even  as  were  the  Greek  and  Roman  ethics  and 
the  teachings  of  the  Old  Testament.  But  ethical  sys- 
tems nowhere  reveal  to  man  the  power  by  which  he 
may  realize  his  ideals ; that  help  comes  from  the  new 
birth  in  Christ  and  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  within  the 
hearts  of  believers.  Hence  children  struggling  with 
moral  ideals  which  lie  beyond  their  own  inherent 
strength  to  realize  should  be  made  familiar  with  re- 
ligious experience  and  should  be  led  by  the  examples 
of  teachers  to  venture  upon  the  Great  Experiment 
themselves. 


120  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


China  already  is  feeling  the  need  of  placing  her 
education  upon  a higher  basis  than  the  Western  na- 
tions thus  far  have  reached.  The  modern  learning 
being  introduced  into  China  is  showing  one  sign  of 
decay,  namely,  the  loss  of  reverence  for  teachers  and 
for  authority,  the  abuse  of  freedom,  and  the  assump- 
tion by  the  students  of  the  right  to  manage  the  school. 
This  is  due  in  part  to  the  fact  that  many  men  of  ma- 
ture years  in  China  are  seeking  an  education  for  the 
sake  of  the  Western  learning,  in  part  to  the  confusion 
of  freedom  with  license,  and  in  part  to  the  fact  that 
education  in  China  has  been  for  centuries  a private 
enterprise  and  the  Chinese  families  employing  tutors 
have  come,  in  some  measure,  to  regard  them  as  hired 
men. 

The  Japanese  also  are  finding  our  Western  system 
of  education  insufficient  for  their  needs.  They  have 
fully  equaled  the  Western  nations  in  the  scientific 
character  of  their  instruction;  but  the  Japanese  com- 
missioner of  education  in  1911  called  together  repre- 
sentatives of  Shintoism,  Buddhism,  and  Christianity 
for  a conference  on  the  improvement  of  education,  be- 
cause the  government  had  discovered  that  the  Jap- 
anese teachers  trained  in  government  normal  schools 
were  not  successful  in  imparting  high  moral  ideals  or 
in  developing  strong  moral  character  among  their  stu- 
dents. The  result  of  the  conference,  in  which  Chris- 
tian missionaries  were  permitted  to  tell  of  Christian 
experience  in  transforming  the  lives  of  young  people, 
was  an  exhortation  sent  to  every  school  in  Japan,  in- 
cluding our  mission  schools,  urging  them  to  lay 
greater  stress  upon  the  teaching  of  religion  as  an 


EDUCATIONAL  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


121 


essential  preparation  for  the  future  lives  of  the  young 
people.  A recent  report  on  the  religious  conditions  in 
the  University  of  Tokyo  revealed  the  startling  fact 
that  of  4,966  students  reporting,  not  one  wrote  him- 
self down  as  a Shintoist,  only  6 enrolled  themselves  as 
Confucianists,  only  60  as  Christians,  only  300  as  Bud- 
dhists, while  1,000  enrolled  themselves  as  atheists, 
and  3,600  as  agnostics.  With  this  condition  of  affairs, 
do  you  wonder  that  thoughtful  statesmen  in  Japan  are 
turning  to  religion  as  an  essential  for  national  safety? 
The  mayor  of  Tokyo  said  in  1914,  “Education  has 
taken  off  the  helmet  to  religion.” 

The  Chinese  will  not  be  satisfied  with  mere  hook 
knowledge,  with  the  theoretical  science,  philosophy 
and  theology  of  the  West.  They  will  be  content  with 
nothing  less  than  the  applied  sciences  and  applied 
Christianity.  The  Chinese  doctrine  of  the  innate 
goodness  of  human  nature,  while  defective  and  untrue 
to  life,  nevertheless  is  more  consonant  with  the  teach- 
ing of  the  Bible  as  a whole  than  the  doctrine  of  the 
total  depravity  of  man.  If  the  Chinese  can  once 
recognize  that  while  man  was  originally  made  in  the 
image  of  God,  he  has,  in  some  strange  manner,  de- 
generated from  his  high  estate,  and  if  they  once  adopt 
Christianity  as  essential  to  their  spiritual  nature  and 
their  moral  culture,  very  possibly  they  will  make  a 
wider  and  deeper  use  of  it  than  we  are  making  in  the 
West.  If  they  discard  the  false  barrier  between  na- 
ture and  the  supernatural,  seek  new  life  and  power  for 
their  daily  tasks  through  Christ  and  the  indwelling 
spirit;  if  the  Far  East  bravely  meets  the  crisis  which 
now  confronts  her  and  not  only  Westernizes  but  Chris- 


122  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


tianizes  her  education,  then  China,  because  of  the  tre- 
mendous break-up  of  old  customs  and  institutions,  has 
perhaps  as  bright  a prospect  for  the  future  as  America 
or  Europe.  If,  along  with  her  outworn  civilization, 
she  also  puts  aside  the  half  Christian,  half-pagan 
civilization  of  America  and  Europe,  with  its  worship 
of  material  success,  its  glorification  of  war,  its  in- 
dulgence of  lust  and  worldly  pride,  and  accepts  Chris- 
tianity in  earnest,  she  may  surpass  the  Western  world 
in  realizing  the  New  Humanity  in  Christ. 

Books  for  Reference 

Biot,  Edouard : Essai  sur  I’Historie  de  I’lnstruction  Publique 
en  Chine.  Burton,  Margaret  E. : The  Education  of  Women  in 
China.  Faber,  Ernst : Chronological  Handbook  of  the  History 
of  China.  Giles,  Herbert  A. : Chinese  Biographical  Dictionary. 
Hirth,  Friedrich:  The  Ancient  History  of  China.  King,  H.  E. : 
The  Education  of  China  (U.  S.  Dept,  of  Ed.,  Vol.  I — 1905, 
1908,  1909).  Kuo,  P.  W. : The  Chinese  System  of  Public 
Education.  Lewis,  Robert:  The  Educational  Conquest  of  the 
Far  East.  Monroe,  Paul : History  of  Education ; Encyclo- 
pedia of  Education.  Parker,  E.  H. : China,  Her  History,  Diplo- 
macy, and  Commerce.  Thwing,  C.  F. : Education  in  the  Far 
East.  Werner,  E.  T.  C. : Descriptive  Sociology  of  the  Chinese. 
Yen  Lin-ho:  Chinese  Education. 


CHAPTER  V 

WOMAN’S  LIFE  IN  CHINA 

Perhaps  we  cannot  better  open  this  chapter  than 
with  a brief  historical  sketch  of  the  domestic  and 
family  relations  of  the  Chinese. 

B.  C.  2700 — Marriage  supplants  the  capture  of 
brides;^  B.  C.  2357-1122 — Polygamy  and  concubinage 
were  common.^ 

B.  C.  1 1 22-22 1® — The  matchmaker,  or  the  agent 
arranging  marriages  between  two  families,  was  recog- 
nized ; the  function  has  continued  down  to  the  present 
time.  Probably  this  custom  arose  when  marriage  by 
purchase  supplanted  marriage  by  capture,  for  under 
industry  and  commerce,  we  find  the  go-between,  or 
middleman,  recognized  in  almost  all  commercial  trans- 
actions. 

From  the  earliest  times  to  the  present,  marriages 
were  arranged  on  the  judgment  of  the  parents  or  of 
the  mediator  without  consulting  the  young  people. 
Nevertheless,  true  affection  often  sprang  up  between 
husband  and  wife.  Meadows  speaks  of  love  at  first 
sight  springing  up  between  young  men  and  young 
women  in  the  Orient;  and  cites  in  proof  of  this  both 
Chinese  novels  and  the  Arabian  Nights’  Entertain- 
ment.^ 

Marriage  among  those  of  the  same  surname  or 

> Wemer,  E.  T.  C.:  Descriptive  Sociology  of  the  Chinese,  p.  91,  col.  i. 

» Ibid.,  Table  I.  col.  3.  ’ Ibid.,  Table  II.  col.  3. 

* Meadows,  T.  T.:  The  Chinese  and  Their  Rebellions,  p.  556-57. 

123 


124  CHINA;  AN  INTERPRETATION 


within  the  clan  was  early  forbidden,  and  this  wise 
regulation  checking  intermarriage  has  continued. 

The  bride  has  always  been  regarded  as  ceasing  to 
be  a member  of  her  father’s  family  and  as  becoming 
legally  and  spiritually  a member  of  her  husband’s 
family.  This  is  shown  by  her  permanently  joining  him 
in  worship  at  his  family  altar,  thus  recognizing  his 
ancestors  rather  than  her  own  as  the  persons  demand- 
ing her  worship  and  service.  But  permission  was 
given  the  bride  a short  time  after  marriage  to  visit 
her  own  family,  and  that  custom  has  continued  down 
to  the  present  time.  Despite  the  surrender  of  all 
family  rights  upon  the  part  of  the  parents  of  the 
daughter,  and  the  daughter  herself,  nature  has  as- 
serted the  divine  right  of  parent  and  child,  and  the 
Chinese  usually  recognize  the  advisability  of  seeking 
an  alliance  for  a son  with  a family  of  equal  standing, 
on  the  ground  that  the  family  will  not  lose  interest  in 
its  daughter. 

Remarriage  after  the  death  of  a wife  was  freely 
permitted  the  husband,  and  sometimes  took  place 
speedily,  but  public  sentiment  practically  forbade  the 
remarriage  of  a widow  until  after  three  years  of 
mourning.  Any  remarriage  of  a widow  was  regarded 
as  unchaste  on  her  part  and  unchaste  on  the  part  of 
the  man  selecting  her  for  a wife.  This  is  due  to  the 
fact  that  the  spirit  of  the  dead  man  is  supposed  still 
to  need  the  service  of  the  living  wife  and  she  is  re- 
garded as  still  belonging  to  him.  l\Iany  stone  arches 
are  seen  in  China  commemorating  widows  who  refused 
all  offers  of  remarriage.  The  widow  remains  in  the 
home  of  parents-in-law  and  belongs  to  them.  Only  in 


WOMAN’S  UFE  TN  CHINA 


125 


cases  of  extreme  poverty  where  the  parents-in-law 
cannot  support  the  widowed  daughter-in-law,  or  ar- 
range for  her  to  contribute  to  their  mutual  suj)port,  is 
the  remarriage  of  a widow  excepted  from  condemna- 
tion. The  service  of  fathers  and  mothers  by  all  chil- 
dren was  placed  by  Mencius’'  among  religious  duties. 
Sons  were  absolved  from  military  service  if  needed  by 
aged  parents  for  their  care. 

B.  C.  221-A.  D.  221® — An  unbroken  succession  in 
the  male  line  to  insure  the  performance  of  ancestral 
rites  and  the  repose  of  the  spirits  of  the  dead  and  their 
consequent  protection  of  the  living  was  deemed  the 
highest  blessing.  The  male  line  was  perpetuated  either 
through  a son  by  the  first  wife  or  by  a concubine,  or, 
if  need  be,  an  heir  was  secured  by  adoption.  This  con- 
ception of  family  life  has  continued  down  to  the 
present. 

A.  D.  221-589’ — Edicts  were  issued  forbidding  the 
royal  family,  scholars,  and  common  people  to  marry 
outside  their  own  class;  but  the  regulation  was  not 
maintained,  and  it  did  not  result  in  the  establishment 
of  a caste  system  in  China.  The  custom  of  arranging 
betrothals  sprang  up,  and  parents  even  pledged  their 
children  to  each  other  before  the  children  were  born, 
provided  they  proved  to  be  of  the  opposite  sex.  The 
early  transfer  of  girls  to  the  homes  of  their  future  hus- 
bands arose  from  the  fact  that  the  girl  belongs  to  her 
husband’s  family;  and  the  future  mother-in-law  often 
was  better  pleased  with  a daughter-in-law  whom  she 
herself  trained.  But  this  early  transfer  of  a girl  to 

‘ Lived  B.  C.  372-289. 

•Werner,  E.  T.  C.:  Descriptive  Sociology  of  the  Chinese,  Table  IV,  col.  4. 

’ Ibid.,  Table  IV,  cols.  3,  4. 


126  CHINA;  AN  INTERPRETATION 


the  home  of  the  future  husband  and  the  early  betrothal 
of  children  are  slowly  disappearing.  The  sale  of  chil- 
dren into  slavery  became  so  common  between  A.  D. 
221  and  589  that  an  imperial  decree  was  issued  pro- 
hibiting it;  and  also  prohibiting  female  infanticide, 
though  both  have  continued  in  some  measure  down  to 
the  present  time. 

A.  D.  960-1280® — Added  emphasis  was  laid  upon 
the  necessity  of  male  descendants  to  perform  ancestral 
rites,  and  Buddhist  priests  were  condemned  for  their 
failure  to  marry  and  secure  male  descendants. 

A.  D.  1368-1644” — Marriage  still  took  place  at  an 
early  age  for  the  sake  of  male  descendants.  Polygamy 
as  well  as  concubinage  was  permitted  under  the  Ming 
dynasty,  two  wives  being  sometimes  recognized;  but 
polygamy  was  authorized  only  when  a son  was  obliged 
to  raise  up  separate  descendants  to  perform  the  an- 
cestral rites  of  two  lines  of  ancestors ; otherwise  con- 
cubinage supplanted  polygamy,  the  concubine  being 
practically  the  slave  of  the  wife,  and  her  children  being 
reckoned  as  the  children  of  her  mistress.  The  Chinese 
draw  a clear  distinction  between  concubinage  and 
polygamy;  and  we  know  of  no  condition  save  the  one 
named  above  in  which  polygamy  is  legal  or  is  socially 
approved. 

A.  D.  1644-1915^” — ^The  family  embraces  all  per- 
sons, without  distinction,  including  slaves ; all  such  are 
under  the  power  of  the  father.  Marriage  is  not  legally 
compulsory ; but  the  social  and  religious  conviction  of 
the  duty  of  securing  male  heirs  is  so  strong  that  mar- 

• Werner,  E.  T.  C.:  Descriptive  Sociology  of  the  Chinese,  Table  VI,  cols.  3,  4. 

• Ibid.,  Table  VIII,  cols.  3,  4. 

>«  Ibid.,  Table  IX,  cols.  3,  4. 


WOMAN’S  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


127 


riage  is  all  but  universal  in  China.  The  lowest  legal 
age  for  the  marriage  of  a girl  is  fifteen,  although  there 
are  exceptions  to  this  rule.  The  descent  of  real  and 
personal  property  is  now  to  all  sons  of  wives  and  of 
concubines  in  shares : sons  of  concubines  receiving  half 
shares,  adopted  sons  receiving  the  same  shares  as  real 
sons.  The  power  of  the  father,  and  in  case  of  his 
death,  of  the  mother,  over  the  child  extends  still  legally 
to  life  and  death.”  Implicit  obedience  of  the  wife  is 
enforced.  She  cannof  possess  separate  property.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  husband  cannot  hire  her  out  for 
prostitution.  Divorce  is  still  theoretically  easy  for 
men.  Nevertheless,  practically,  it  is  limited;  because 
the  sending  of  a wife  back  to  her  parents  without  suit- 
able cause  is  sure  to  awaken  the  antagonism  of  her 
family  and  create  a bitter  feud.  Slavery  in  China 
owed  its  origin  in  part  to  the  payment  of  money  or  a 
dowry  for  wives,  and  it  consists  chiefly  in  the  owner- 
ship of  female  slaves  who  are  often  concubines.  From 
this  brief  historical  review  the  following  conclusions 
may  be  drawn : 

I.  Inferior  Position  of  Women  in  China 

I.  Women  in  China  have  always  suffered  from  the 
teaching  by  the  religious  books  of  their  inferiority  to 
men.  The  I Ching,  which  is  venerated  as  holy  scrip- 
ture by  the  Chinese,  teaches  that  the  original  principle 
out  of  which  heaven  and  earth  evolved  was  a united 
male  and  female  principle ; but  that  the  two  separated, 
the  male  becoming  the  heavenly  principle  and  the  fe- 
male becoming  the  earthly  principle.  The  male  prin- 


^ Meadows,  T.  T.:  The  Chinese  and  Their  Rebellions,  pp.  551,  635. 


128  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


ciple  is  represented  by  light  and  the  female  by  dark- 
ness; the  male  by  strength,  and  the  female  by  weak- 
ness; the  male  by  wisdom,  the  female  by  ignorance. 
For  this  reason  the  ancient  Chinese,  including  Con- 
fucius, laid  stress  upon  the  distinction  between  the 
sexes.  Confucius  says,  “Women  are  as  different  from 
men  as  earth  is  from  heaven.”  Again:  “Women  are, 
indeed,  human  beings,  but  they  are  of  a lower  state 
than  men.  They  never  can  attain  a full  equality  with 
men.  The  aim  of  female  education,  therefore,  is  per- 
fect submission — not  cultivation  and  the  development 
of  the  mind.”  Again  he  says,  “It  is  a law  of  nature 
that  women  should  be  kept  under  the  control  of  men 
and  not  allowed  any  will  of  their  own.”  Finally,  as  if 
to  make  clear  that  the  difference  between  men  and 
women  is  eternal,  Confucius  adds,  “In  the  other  world 
the  condition  of  affairs  is  exactly  the  same,  for  family 
laws  govern  there  as  well  as  here.”  Hence,  if  sons  are 
in  subjection  to  their  parents  under  Chinese  law, 
daughters  are  in  even  more  complete  subjection  to 
their  parents  and  to  the  parents-in-law. 

2.  Another  evidence  of  the  complete  subordination 
of  women  in  China  is  found  in  the  determination  of 
their  marriage  by  their  grandparents,  if  these  are  still 
living;  and  in  case  the  grandparents  are  dead,  by  their 
parents,  without  ever  consulting  the  daughters’  wishes. 
The  son  as  well  as  the  daughter  is  under  the  same  sub- 
jection: and  family  affection  leads  the  parents  usually 
to  plan  such  a marriage  as  they  think,  upon  the  whole, 
will  be  for  the  best  interests  of  the  family,  including 
the  children.  r)Ut  inasmuch  as  the  sons  remain  an 
integral  portion  of  the  family  and  the  oldest  son  be- 


WOMAN’S  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


129 


comes  the  continuator  of  the  line  and  performs  the 
ancestral  rites  for  the  parents  at  their  death,  the  father 
and  mother  naturally  are  more  eager  to  conserve  a 
son’s  interests  in  marriage  than  to  conserve  the  inter- 
ests of  a daughter  who  goes  by  marriage  to  an  entirely 
different  clan.  Hence  a daughter’s  marriage  is  de- 
termined more  by  the  amount  which  can  be  procured 
for  her,  with  less  reference  to  the  character  of  the  man 
or  of  the  family  to  whom  she  is  married,  than  is  the 
case  with  the  son. 

3.  The  wife  is  under  complete  subjection  to  her  hus- 
band. Divorce  is  allowed  to  the  husband  for  seven 
causes,  and  any  man  desiring  to  get  rid  of  a wife  can 
easily  find  legal  grounds  for  action.  Upon  the  other 
hand,  divorce  is  not  allowed  the  wife  save  for  long- 
continued  desertion  by  her  husband;  or  leprosy;  and 
only  in  the  rarest  cases  does  a woman  succeed  in  se- 
curing a divorce. 

4.  The  wife  is  subject  to  the  humiliation  of  concu- 
binage, that  is,  she  may  become  one  of  two  or  more 
women  who  are  taken  into  the  home  by  the  husband. 
And  she  is  put  at  some  disadvantage  as  over  against 
the  concubine  from  the  fact  already  mentioned,  that 
she  is  chosen  for  her  husband  by  his  parents,  while  the 
husband  selects  the  concubine  according  to  his  own 
wishes.  However  grave  this  evil,  nevertheless,  the 
husband  is  forbidden  by  law  to  show  a preference  for 
the  concubine,  but  must  recognize  her  position  as  in- 
ferior to  that  of  his  wife. 

5.  The  wife  is  subject  to  the  parents-in-law.  If  the 
father-in-law  is  dead,  the  wife  must  ask  the  mother- 
in-law  about  everything.  It  is  improper  for  a wife  to 


130  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

retire  to  her  private  apartments  without  waiting  on 
her  parents-in-law  and  asking  their  permission.  If 
the  wife  has  any  business,  either  large  or  small,  she 
must  ask  her  parents-in-law  in  regard  to  it.  Legally 
she  can  have  no  private  property,  no  private  domestic 
animals,  or  article  for  her  own  personal  use. 

6.  Cramping  women’s  feet  into  the  so-called  “golden 
lilies”  originated  probably  A.  D.  900-970,  though  re- 
ferred by  some  to  a period  several  hundred  years 
earlier.^^  As  to  how  it  originated,  there  is  no  sufficient 
trustworthy  evidence.  “The  fashion  is  ascribed  to  one 
of  the  concubines  of  the  last  princes  of  the  late  T’ang 
dynasty  (A.  D.  934).”^^  The  binding  usually  begins 
when  the  girls  are  from  three  or  four  to  six  or  seven 
years  of  age.  It  consists  in  binding  the  smaller  toes 
under  the  foot  and  of  bending  the  large  toe  upward 
and  backward  in  such  a way  as  to  make  a bow  of  the 
foot  and  in  such  a manner  also  as  to  make  the  foot  to 
a considerable  extent  the  extension  of  the  limb  in  a 
straight  line.  The  effect  is  always  to  deform  the  foot, 
sometimes  the  bones  are  crushed  in  the  process,  and 
usually  the  woman  is  crippled  for  life. 

7.  The  position  of  women  is  shown  by  the  system  of 
merits  which  was  established  originally  by  Bud- 
dhism. According  to  this  system,  the  wife  received  in 
heaven  one  merit  for  every  day  during  which  she  is 
dutiful  and  obedient  to  her  parents-in-law  and  respect- 
fully serves  her  husband;  one  merit  for  each  day  dur- 
ing which  she  waits  on  her  husband  or  parents-in-law 

Werner,  E.  T.  C.:  Descriptive  Sociology  of  the  Chinese,  Table  V,  col.  13, 
near  bottom  of  page. 

See  Meadow’s  reference  to  L’Abb6  E.  R.  Hue,  in  The  Chinese  and  Their 
Rebellions,  p.  551,  note. 


WOMAN’S  LIFE  IN  CHINA  131 

during  illness ; three  merits  for  selling  her  toilet  arti- 
cles to  assist  them;  three  merits  for  each  time  she 
suffers  violence  at  the  hands  of  her  parents-in-law 
without  a resentful  word,  or  an  angry  look,  and  three 
merits  for  every  time  she  yields  to  a coarse  and  violent 
husband  without  anger.  The  husband  and  wife  each 
receive  a merit  for  each  day  the  husband  achieves  vir- 
tue and  they  endure  their  lot  when  hard,  the  husband 
not  refusing  to  strive  for  gain  and  the  wife  not  refus- 
ing to  draw  the  water  and  pound  the  rice.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  wife  receives  one  demerit  for  every 
word  spoken  to  impede  her  husband  in  the  pursuit  of 
virtue  or  to  incite  him  to  the  pursuit  of  vice ; one  de- 
merit for  not  living  in  peace  with  her  neighbors ; five 
demerits  for  each  time  she  plays  cards  with  anybody; 
three  to  ten  demerits  for  want  of  cleanliness  or  for 
going  to  see  sights ; ten  demerits  for  using  paper  with 
writing  or  printing  on  it  to  wrap  up  her  needles  and 
thread;  one  thousand  demerits  for  disliking  her  hus- 
band on  account  of  an  ugly  face ! 

8.  When  one  considers  the  fundamental  distinction 
between  men  and  women  in  all  authoritative  Chinese 
teaching  from  a thousand  years  before  Christ  down  to 
the  present  time ; when  one  remembers  that  under  this 
teaching  and  under  almost  universal  practice,  the 
Chinese  woman  was  treated  as  inferior  to  man,  and 
that  this  inferiority  is  considered  to  inhere  in  her  very 
nature  and  to  continue  throughout  eternity;  when  one 
remembers  how  the  daughters  have  been  liable  to  in- 
fanticide or  slavery,  how  wives  have  been  from  the 
earliest  times  under  the  power  of  husbands;  how  in 
addition  to  the  grosser  tyranny  of  a bad  man  every 


132  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

Chinese  wife  becomes  practically  the  slave  of  her 
parents-in-law,  and  may  be  subject  to  a refined  cruelty 
upon  the  part  of  a mother-in-law,  which  even  a coarse 
husband  would  not  think  of  practicing;  when  one  re- 
members that  the  physical  torture  of  bound  feet  is  only 
a symbol  of  the  mental  cramping  and  spiritual  torture 
which  marks  the  entire  life,  then  the  grim  decision 
sometimes  reached  by  mothers  to  drown  their  baby 
girls,  partly  out  of  poverty  and  to  avoid  the  alternative 
of  selling  them  as  slaves,  and  partly  out  of  discourage- 
ment over  woman’s  lot  in  general,  and  the  more  des- 
perate decision  to  commit  suicide  themselves,  are  sad 
comments  on  the  lot  of  women  in  the  most  populous 
nation  on  earth. 

II.  Ameliorating  Conditions 

On  the  other  side,  we  must  bear  in  mind  that  suicide 
among  women  probably  is  not  more  common  in  China 
than  in  Western  lands.  L’Abbe  E.  R.  Huc,^^  Dr. 
Ernst  Eaber,^^  and  many  missionaries  portray 
woman’s  lot  in  China  as  sadder  than  it  is.  Moreover, 
while  recognizing  the  inferior  position  which  woman 
holds  in  China,  Alabaster^®  shows  that  not  only  Chin- 
ese law,  but  the  administration  of  that  law  by  the 
courts  tends  to  discourage  the  abuse  of  women  by  hus- 
bands, or  by  parents-in-law.  We  do  not  know  what 
])roportion  of  wives  subjected  to  oppression  appeal  to 
the  courts,  and  we  do  know  that  the  courts  clearly 
recognize  woman’s  subjection  to  her  husband ; and  that 

**  See  Meadows’s  reference  to  L’Abbfe  E.  R.  Hue,  in  The  Chinese  and  Their 
Rebellions,  p.  5 si,  note. 

“ Two  articles  in  The  Messenger,  Nos.  8 and  9,  1889. 

See  Preface  to  Notes  on  Chinese  Law  and  Practice. 


WOMAN’S  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


133 


Chinese  law  despite  all  mitigations  rests  upon  the 
fundamental  assumption  of  woman’s  inferiority.  But 
such  observation  as  we  have  made  in  Chinese  homes, 
not  simply  Christian  but  non-Christian,  show  that  the 
Chinese  treatment  of  women  is  frequently  better  than 
the  theories  of  the  sexes  would  imply.  Certainly  there 
is  some  measure  of  relief  from  the  terrible  abuse  made 
possible  under  the  Chinese  Classics.  Human  nature, 
after  all,  is  often  better  than  human  laws,  and  es- 
pecially than  some  religious  teachings. 

First,  every  woman  who  is  subject  to  her  father-in- 
law  and  her  mother-in-law  during  their  lifetime  has 
the  grim  satisfaction  of  knowing  that  under  ordinary 
conditions  she  will  outlive  them  and  that  she  also  will 
reach  the  position  of  mother-in-law  and  can  exercise 
authority  over  others  as  others  have  exercised  author- 
ity over  her.  Second,  while  she  is  subject  to  the  loss 
of  her  husband’s  aflfection  and  to  the  humiliation  of 
sharing  his  life  with  a concubine,  she  has  here  also  the 
grim  satisfaction  of  feeling  that  the  concubine  is  abso- 
lutely under  her  own  control  and  is  as  much  a slave  to 
her  as  she  in  turn  is  bound  to  her  father-in-law  and 
mother-in-law.  But  neither  of  these  considerations 
will  have  weight  with  a noble  woman.  Third,  Chinese 
law  prescribes  the  death  penalty  for  adultery  in  the 
case  of  the  man  as  well  as  the  woman.  Fourth,  in  the 
case  of  the  death  of  her  husband  the  Chinese  mother 
has  the  same  power  over  the  family,  even  extending  to 
the  life  and  death  of  the  sons,  which  the  father  pos- 
sessed.^^ This  apparently  contradicts  the  view  that 
on  the  death  of  the  father  the  mother  becomes  sub- 


” Meadows,  T.  T.:  The  Chinese  and  Their  Rebellions,  pp.  551,  635. 


134  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


ject  to  the  oldest  son/®  but  each  custom  exists  in 
parts  of  China.  Fifth,  above  all,  every  woman  in  China 
looks  forward  to  the  glory  of  motherhood.  The  birth 
of  children  is  of  such  importance  that  any  mother 
bearing  a son  secures  by  that  act  something  like  an 
equal  parental  standing  with  her  husband.  The  fifth 
textbook  in  all  Chinese  schools.  The  Manual  of  Filial 
Piety,  says : “With  the  same  love  with  which  children 
serve  their  fathers  they  should  serve  their  mothers; 
and  with  the  same  respect  with  which  they  serve  their 
fathers  they  should  serve  their  prince.  Universal  love, 
therefore,  will  be  the  offering  they  make  to  their 
mothers;  unfeigned  respect  will  be  the  tribute  they 
bring  to  their  prince ; while  toward  their  fathers  both 
will  be  combined.”  Again  it  says:  “There  are  a 

thousand  crimes,  and  of  these  no  one  is  greater  than 
disobedience  to  parents.  When  ministers  exercise 
control  over  the  monarch,  then  there  is  no  supremacy ; 
when  the  maxims  of  the  Sages  are  set  aside,  then  the 
law  is  abrogated;  and  so  those  who  disregard  filial 
piety  are  as  though  they  had  no  parents.  These  three 
evils  prepare  the  way  for  universal  rebellion.”  Finally, 
probably  a far  less  proportion  of  the  women  of  China 
than  of  the  men  fall  into  the  social  evil,  one  bad 
woman  often  corrupting  a score  of  men;  and  women 
are  reaping  the  benefit  of  their  stronger  virtue.  It  is 
to  motherhood  that  such  redemption  as  has  come  to 
Chinese  women  for  the  last  four  thousand  years  has 
been  due ; and  it  is  through  the  service  of  motherhood 
that  Chinese  women  will  achieve  the  larger  freedom 
which  the  gospel  offers  them. 


Legge,  James:  The  Chinese  Clas.sics,  vol.  ii.  p.  i8. 


WOMAN’S  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


135 


III.  Education  of  Chinese  Women 

On  woman’s  education  in  China  we  must  bear  in 
mind  what  was  written  in  the  preceding  chapter  on  in- 
dustrial and  domestic  education.  Girls  in  China,  called 
to  help  their  mothers  almost  from  infancy,  have  re- 
ceived all  the  domestic  knowledge  which  their  mothers 
possess.  Many  women  also  have  a stern,  practical 
knowledge  of  field  labor.  Breeding  silk  worms,  weav- 
ing, making  garments,  embroidery,  as  well  as  cooking, 
care  of  the  house,  social  etiquette,  and  all  the  arts  con- 
nected with  the  birth  and  rearing  of  children  are  em- 
braced in  domestic  training.  Mr.  Charles  writes, 
“The  embroidery  of  China  is  not  only  unequaled,  but 
is  immeasurably  superior  to  that  of  any  other  na- 
tion.” 

On  scholastic  education  in  China,  Miss  Margaret  E. 
Burton’s  volume.  The  Education  of  Women  in  China, 
is  the  standard.  Professor  Headland^®  makes  out  a 
more  favorable  case  for  women  than  most  other 
writers  upon  China.  He  has  found  a Chinese  Primer 
for  girls ; a collection  of  Chinese  IMother  Goose 
Rhymes,  comprising  six  hundred  nursery  ditties ; Four 
Books  for  Girls,  corresponding  in  some  measure  to 
four  books  for  boys ; Studies  for  Women,  by  Lu  Chau, 
comprising  the  examples  of  illustrious  women  of  an- 
cient times;  Studies  for  the  Inner  Apartments,  and  a 
Filial  Piety  Classic  for  Girls.  He  thinks  China  would 
not  have  produced  women  of  such  education  as  the 
late  empress  dowager,  or  established  for  a time  a Daily 
Newspaper  for  Women  in  Peking — the  first  exclu- 


Charles,  Henry:  Life  in  China  Described  by  Great  Writers,  p.  382, 
* Headland,  Isaac  T.:  China’s  New  Day. 


136  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

sively  woman’s  daily  ever  published — had  not  educa- 
tion been  more  general  than  most  statements  indicate. 
But  while  the  private  teaching  of  women  was  not  pro- 
hibited by  the  government,  and  while  there  were  some 
textbooks  for  girls  and  some  education  for  women  in 
court  circles  with  which  Professor  Headland  is  fa- 
miliar, yet  even  this  education  laid  great  emphasis 
upon  the  subordination  of  women,  as  Lady  Tsao’s 
book.  Rules  for  Women,  written  about  the  time  of 
Christ,  makes  clear.  The  headings  of  her  seven  chap- 
ters show  what  were,  in  her  opinion,  the  most  im- 
portant features  of  a woman’s  education: 

I.  The  State  of  Subjection  and  Weakness  in  which  Women 
Are  Born. 

II.  The  Duties  of  a Woman  When  Under  the  Power  of  Her 
Husband. 

III.  The  Unlimited  Respect  Due  to  a Husband  and  Constant 

Self-Examination  and  Restraint. 

IV.  The  Qualities  which  Render  a Female  Lovable:  Her 

Virtue,  Her  Conversation,  Her  Dress,  and  Occupa- 
tions. 

V.  The  Lasting  Attachment  Due  from  a Wife  to  a Husband. 

VI.  The  Obedience  Due  to  a Husband  and  to  His  Parents. 

VII.  The  Cordial  Relations  to  be  Maintained  with  Her  Hus- 
band’s Brothers  and  Sisters. 

That  education  among  the  masses  of  Chinese  women 
was  very  rare  is  indicated  by  the  statement  of  Dr. 
W.  A.  P.  Martin,  who  said  in  1877,  “Not  one  in  ten 
thousand  women  can  read.”  Mrs.  Calvin  Mateer,  a 
missionary  of  unusual  experience,  basing  her  opinion 
upon  her  observations  in  Shantung,  wrote  that  prob- 


Burton,  Margaret  E.:  The  Education  of  Women  in  China,  pp.  17,  18. 
“ Ibid.,  p.  31. 


WOMAN’S  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


137 


ably  one  woman  in  two  or  three  thousand  could  read."^ 
Mrs.  Arthur  H,  Smith,  a woman  of  exceptional  oppor- 
tunities to  know  the  women  of  the  Great  Plain,  said  at 
the  Shanghai  Conference  in  1890,  “Among  the  thou- 
sands of  women  whom  we  have  met  not  more  than  ten 
had  learned  to  read.”  Mrs.  Ing,  a missionary  in 
Kiukiang,  wrote  to  the  Heathen  Woman’s  Friend  in 
1874,  “When  we  came  to  Kiukiang  three  years  since, 
we  could  not  by  diligent  inquiry  find  a woman  who 
could  read.  There  was  indeed  a vague  rumor  of  one 
thus  distinguished,  but  where  we  could  not  learn.” 
Miss  Burton  sums  up  the  matter  in  a sober  and  con- 
vincing statement;  “Surely,  when  the  percentage  of 
women  who  can  read  or  write  is  estimated  at  one  in  a 
thousand,  we  may  make  the  general  statement  that 
the  time  when  China  was  opened  to  foreigners,  a little 
over  half  a century  ago,  the  women  of  the  nation  were 
illiterate,  and  wholly  without  the  benefits  of  any  edu- 
cation beyond  that  which  came  in  the  regular  round 
of  their  household  and  field  duties.” 

As  to  the  origin  of  modern  education  for  women  in 
China:  The  Roman  Catholic  Sisters  started  an  or- 

phanage for  girls  in  which  they  were  taught  needle- 
work and  other  arts  before  any  Protestant  schools  for 
girls  were  opened.  Orphanages  proved  a great  boon 
for  those  who  entered  them,  partly  because  they  fol- 
lowed the  Chinese  method  of  instructing  girls  in  indus- 
try or  art  rather  than  the  sudden  introduction  of  mod- 
ern education  into  China,  but  more  largely  because 
they  enabled  the  women  who  completed  the  course  to 

“ Burton,  Margaret  E.:  The  Education  of  Women  in  China,  p.  24. 

**  Ibid.,  p.  24.  “ Ibid.,  p.  24.  Ibid.,  p.  28. 


138  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

earn  a living,  and  thus  place  themselves  upon  a basis  of 
economic  independence.  The  honor  of  establishing 
schools  for  teaching  Chinese  girls  to  read  and  write, 
and  of  maintaining  these  schools  despite  indifference 
and  opposition,  belongs  to  Protestant  missionaries. 
Scattered  beginnings  in  teaching  girls  were  made  by 
Miss  Grant,  an  Englishwoman,  at  Singapore  in  1825 ; 
by  Miss  Aldersey  in  her  school  for  Chinese  girls  at 
Java  in  1837,  ^^^1  at  Ningpo  in  1842 ; by  the  schools  for 
girls  established  by  American  women,  the  Misses 
Woolston,  at  Foochow  in  1849,  by  Mrs.  Nevius  at 
T’unchow  in  1862,  by  Miss  Dunning  at  Chef 00  in 
1872,  by  Dr.  Lucy  Hoag  and  Miss  Gertrude  Howe 
at  Kiukiang  in  1873.  Christian  education  for  women 
and  girls  has  spread  until  now  it  is  carried  on  in  large 
portions  of  the  nation.  The  honor  of  securing  the  un- 
binding of  the  girls’  feet  as  a condition  of  admission 
to  Western  schools,  and  of  carrying  the  reform  to  a 
successful  issue  until  they  had  the  largest  school  in 
China,  belongs  to  Mary  Porter  Gamewell  and  Maria 
Brown  Davis,  and  to  their  girls’  school  opened  in 
Peking  in  1872. 

Inasmuch  as  Professor  Headland  cites  positive  facts 
as  over  against  negative  testimony,  and  inasmuch  as 
Cliinese  literature  and  history  show  that  the  learned 
woman  in  the  nation,  while  regarded  as  a phenomenon, 
has  nevertheless  usually  been  treated  with  honor,  and 
inasmuch  as  the  estimates  of  Protestant  missionaries 
have  until  recent  years  been  based  upon  observations 
of  the  common  people,  we  are  inclined  to  think  that 
there  has  always  been  among  the  official  classes,  es- 
pecially at  the  capital,  a slight  degree  of  learning 


WOMAN’S  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


139 


among  women  and  special  honor  shown  those  who 
mastered  the  Chinese  characters ; and  that  this  special 
honor  of  female  learning  among  the  official  classes, 
together  with  the  high  regard  felt  for  the  late  empress 
dowager  and  the  frequent  boasts  of  her  learning,  have 
contributed  in  part  to  the  favorable  attitude  of  the 
Chinese  generally  toward  the  education  of  women 
to-day.  This  is  further  confirmed  by  the  fact  that  Dr. 
Young  J.  Allen’s  Encyclopedia  of  Noted  Women  of 
All  Ages  and  Lands,  published  in  Chinese,  received  a 
very  hearty  reception  among  the  official  classes.  But 
that  Confucius’s  principles — “It  is  a law  of  nature  that 
women  should  be  kept  under  the  control  of  men  and 
not  be  allowed  any  will  of  their  own,”  and  “The  aim  of 
female  education,  then,  is  perfect  submission,  not  culti- 
vation and  the  development  of  the  mind” — have  domi- 
nated China  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  no  government 
school  for  women  was  ever  opened  until  1887,  forty- 
five  years  after  the  first  Protestant  missionary  woman 
started  a school  for  girls.  In  1912,  with  57,257  gov- 
ernment schools  and  1,626,529  pupils,  only  298  govern- 
ment schools  were  for  girls,  with  only  13,489  pupils  in 
attendance,  as  compared  with  41,308  girls  in  the 
Protestant  mission  schools. 

But  now  that  the  movement  for  woman’s  advance- 
ment is  started,  progress  is  reasonably  sure.  Foot- 
binding, although  still  widely  practiced,  has  received 
its  deathblow  among  intelligent  Chinese.  Too  much 
credit  for  this  reform  cannot  be  given  to  the  noble 
band  of  women  missionaries  who  fought  the  stub- 
born battle  for  a hundred  years  and  are  fighting  it 
to-day.  Praise  is  also  due  Mrs.  Archibald  Little,  who 


140  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

did  much  to  enlist  officials  and  gentry  in  the  move- 
ment. The  government  is  now  upon  the  side  of  the 
reform  so  far  as  public  exhortations  are  concerned. 
But  the  wives  of  very  few  officials  have  unbound  their 
feet,  and  the  cruel  custom  has  thus  far  disappeared 
among  only  a small  section  of  the  people.  Hence  we 
fear  that  for  two  or  three  generations  more  Chinese 
women  will  continue  to  suffer  themselves  and  the 
vitality  of  their  children  will  be  lowered  by  marring 
the  body — the  temple  of  the  Spirit.  But  despite  this 
cruel  custom,  despite  the  untidiness  and  unskillfulness 
of  very  many  Chinese  mothers  and  mothers-in-law 
who  oversee  the  industrial  training  of  their  children, 
Chinese  womanhood  is  essentially  sound,  and  is  the 
hope  of  the  Chinese  nation. 

IV.  The  Outlook 

The  openness  of  the  Chinese  houses  and  courts,  ad- 
mitting the  masses  of  the  people  to  air  and  sunshine, 
the  general  healthfulness  of  domestic  employments,  the 
practical  training  in  the  simple  duties  of  the  household, 
and  the  more  skillful  training  in  dyeing,  weaving, 
matching  colors,  fitting  garments,  and  sewing  than 
even  Western  women  receive ; and,  above  all,  the  disci- 
pline and  self-restraint  in  modesty  and  politeness  and 
the  constant  insistence  upon  unselfish  service  of  their 
families,  giving  Chinese  girls  an  education  in  the  art 
of  living,  all  help  to  account  for  the  long  continuance 
of  Chinese  civilization.  The  dress  of  Chinese  women 
is  more  comfortable,  economical,  modest  and  becoming 
than  is  the  dress  of  the  so-called  better  classes  in  Eu- 


WOMAN’S  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


141 

rope  and  America.  Even  the  poorest  women  are  fond 
of  flowers  for  the  hair;  and  with  their  jet  black  hair 
and  dark  complexion  a flower  is  very  becoming. 
Chinese  women  compare  favorably  in  physical  vigor 
with  American  and  European  women.  Owing  to  the 
Confucian  teaching  and  the  rigid  practices  of  the 
Chinese,  the  women  of  China  probably  are  freer  from 
immorality  than  any  other  class  of  ])agan  women  on 
earth.  Indeed,  in  this  fundamental  virtue  they  sur- 
pass the  women  of  some  of  the  Christian  nations. 
With  the  disappearance  of  footbinding,  they  give 
promise  of  surpassing  their  Western  sisters  in  physical 
stamina.  Professor  E.  A.  Ross  estimates  the  birth  rate 
in  China  at  between  fifty-five  and  sixty  per  thousand  of 
the  population.  This  is  only  a “guess,”  for  statistics 
are  unknown.  But  the  general  observation  of  mission- 
aries makes  the  birth  rate  in  China  much  higher  than 
in  Western  lands.  Still,  writers  on  China  mislead 
Western  readers  and  also  mislead  the  Chinese  by  the 
foolish  assumption  that  the  Chinese  are  not  subject  to 
the  same  laws  of  health  which  Western  peoples  are 
compelled  to  keep.  There  is  a certain  immunity  from 
disease  which  arises  from  generations  of  exposure  to 
it  and  from  the  death  of  all  who  are  not  able  to  resist 
its  assaults.  But  the  ravages  of  contagious  diseases 
in  China,  the  rapid  spread  of  disease  in  a semitropical 
climate,  the  wider  range  of  tuberculosis  and  hook- 
worm, the  higher  mortality  due  to  footbinding,  to  in- 
sanitary homes  and  villages,  and  the  very  high  rate  of 
infant  mortality,  should  lead  missionaries  and  the 
Chinese  alike  to  preach  the  gospel  of  good  health  and 
to  warn  the  nation  that  physically,  mentally,  and 


142  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


spiritually,  the  Chinese  as  well  as  other  nations  are  in 
a universe  of  law  and  that  they  must  reap  what  they 
sow. 

If  motherhood  is  to  accomplish  its  highest  task,  a 
mother  must  be  more  than  a mere  child-bearer.  If  a 
nation  looks  to  the  quality  of  its  citizens  as  well  as  to 
their  numbers,  mothers  must  be  women  of  strong 
character.  Hence  to  render  the  highest  service  to  the 
nation  women  must  have  not  only  good  physiques  but 
mental  training  and  moral  stamina.  In  a word,  in 
order  to  render  the  best  service  as  a means  of  produc- 
ing the  highest  type  of  manhood,  women  must  be  more 
than  means — they  must  be  ends  in  themselves.  The 
curse  of  slavery  and  of  the  doctrine  of  sex  inferiority 
is  due  to  the  fact  that  the  systems  resting  upon  these 
falsehoods  treat  portions  of  the  human  race  as  mere 
means  to  ends  and  not  as  ends  in  themselves.  But  this 
theory  invariably  results  in  slaves,  and  in  women  who 
fail  to  render  the  highest  service  as  means  and  become 
rather  a source  of  demoralization.  Hence  Kant  taught 
that  civilization  never  could  reach  its  highest  stage 
until  every  human  being  becomes  an  end  in  himself  or 
herself.  The  Christian  conception  is  that  all  spiritual 
beings  from  the  little  child  up  to  and  including  the 
Christ  are  both  means  and  ends.  Jesus  speaks  of  his 
sanctification  as  a means  of  serving  others:  “For  their 
sakes  I sanctify  myself.”  On  the  other  hand,  he 
speaks  of  his  death  on  Calvary  for  us  as  if  it  were  a 
step  in  his  own  personal  perfection — “Behold,  I cast 
out  demons  and  perform  cures  to-day  and  to-morrow, 
and  the  third  day  I am  perfected”  — as  if  tasting 


John  17.  19. 


“ Luke  13.  32. 


WOMAN’S  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


143 


death  for  others  were  simply  a step  in  the  perfection 
of  his  own  nature.  Certainly,  Christianity  makes 
every  life  an  end  in  itself:  “What  is  a man  profited, 
if  he  gain  the  whole  world,  and  lose  or  forfeit  his  own 
self?”  29  <<Ye,  therefore,  shall  be  perfect  as  your 

heavenly  Father  is  perfect.”  And  Paul  assures  us 
that  these  universal  words  of  Jesus  apply  to  women 
and  slaves  as  well  as  to  Jews  and  Greeks : “There  can 
be  neither  Jew  nor  Greek,  there  can  be  neither  bond 
nor  free,  there  can  be  no  male  and  female;  for  ye  all 
are  one  man  in  Christ  Jesus.”  But  while  the  New 
Testament  teaches  that  each  person  is  an  end  in  him- 
self, it  also  teaches  that  each  is  a means  to  an  end, 
that  each  finds  his  highest  glory  in  and  through  the 
service  of  others.  This  is  clear  from  the  famous  pass- 
age in  Philippians:  “Llave  this  mind  in  you,  which 

was  also  in  Christ  Jesus : who,  existing  in  the  form  of 
God,  counted  not  the  being  on  an  equality  with  God  a 
thing  to  be  grasped,  but  emptied  himself,  taking  the 
form  of  a servant,  being  made  in  the  likeness  of  men ; 
and  being  found  in  fashion  as  a man,  he  humbled  him- 
self, becoming  obedient  even  unto  death,  yea,  the  death 
of  the  cross.  Wherefore  also  God  also  highly  exalted 
him,  and  gave  unto  him  the  name  which  is  above  every 
name ; that  in  the  name  of  Jesus  every  knee  should  bow, 
of  things  in  heaven  and  things  on  earth,  and  things 
under  the  earth,  and  that  every  tongue  should  confess 
that  Jesus  Christ  is  Lord,  to  the  glory  of  God  the 
Father.”  Here,  then,  in  the  exaltation  of  each  man 
and  each  woman  as  a child  of  God,  whose  end  is  to  be 
perfect  as  the  Father  in  heaven  is  perfect;  and  in  the 

“ Luke  9.  25.  “ Matt.  5.  48.  “ Gal.  3.  28.  Phil.  2.  S-ii. 


\ 


144  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


recognition  that  each  comes  to  his  throne  only  as  did 
the  Christ,  by  the  way  of  service,  even  unto  death  if 
need  be,  is  the  divine  plan  of  life  for  each  human 
being.  When  women  as  well  as  men  are  ends  in  them- 
selves, and  when  men  as  well  as  women  recognize  that 
they  can  reach  the  goal  of  personal  perfection  only 
through  service  for  others,  the  race  will  be  following 
in  Christ’s  footsteps. 

There  is  indeed  danger  that  Chinese  women  may 
become  bolder  and  less  refined  through  the  sudden 
and  unexpected  freedom  accompanying  their  training 
in  Western  learning.  Such  was  the  case  with  the  Lib- 
erty Women  of  Canton  and  of  other  cities  during  the 
recent  revolution.  They  confused  liberty  with  a de- 
grading license.  Such  dangers  attend  every  reform. 
But  the  danger  has  largely  disappeared  from  southern 
China.  Despite  this  temporary  drawback,  the  general 
spread  of  education  of  women  in  China  will  contribute 
greatly  to  the  elevation  of  the  homes,  will  develop  the 
minds  and  cultivate  the  hearts  of  the  future  mothers  of 
the  Chinese  race,  and  will  lift  multitudes  of  women  to 
a position  in  which,  through  their  husbands  and  their 
sons,  and  through  their  own  efforts,  they  will  exercise 
a molding  influence  upon  the  nation.  Dr.  Arthur  H. 
Smith,  with  profound  insight,  thus  writes  of  the  great 
change  in  woman’s  education  now  taking  place  in 
China:  “The  most  comprehensive  and  far-reaching 
change  of  all,  greatly  transcending  in  importance  the 
spectacular  alterations  in  the  form  of  government,  is 
the  potential,  and  in  ])art  the  actual,  liberation  of  the 
women  in  China — one  of  the  great  events  in  the  social 
history  of  mankind.” 


WOMAN’S  LIFE  IN  CHINA  145 

Books  for  Ri^ference 

Allen,  Young  Y. : Encyclopaedia  of  Noted  Women  of  All 
Ages  and  Lands,  published  in  Chinese.  Alabaster,  Ernest : Notes 
and  Commentaries  on  Chinese  Criminal  Law.  Burton,  Mar- 
garet E. : The  Education  of  Women  in  China.  China  Review. 
Faber,  Ernst:  Articles  in  the  Messenger,  1889.  Doolittle, 
Justus:  Social  Life  of  the  Chinese  (2  Vols.).  Headland,  Isaac 
T. : China’s  New  Day.  Legge,  James:  The  Manual  of  Filial 
Piety.  Meadows,  T.  T. : The  Chinese  and  their  Rebellions. 
Morrison,  Robert:  Dictionary  of  the  Chinese  Language.  Ross, 
E.  A. : The  Changing  Chinese.  Peking  Hospital  Report,  1868. 
Tsao,  Lady:  Instruction  for  Chinese  Women  and  Girls,  trans- 
lated by  Mrs.  S.  L.  Baldwin. 


CHAPTER  VI 


LIFE  REFLECTED  IN  LITERATURE 

To  gain  an  insight  into  the  character  of  the  Chinese 
one  must  study  their  literature,  because  literature  re- 
veals the  thought,  sentiment,  imagination,  and  will  of 
the  people  from  whom  it  springs.  Literature  is  the 
outcome  of  the  entire  past  life  of  a nation,  and  it  molds 
the  thought  of  succeeding  generations.  Hence,  so  far 
as  it  is  available,  this  method  of  increasing  one’s 
knowledge  of  a race  should  never  be  overlooked. 

The  Chinese  attach  supreme  importance  to  literary 
style,  and  their  conception  of  style  differs  from  the  con- 
ception of  the  Western  world.  In  their  highest  liter- 
ature they  seek  words  so  unusual  that  only  scholars  are 
familiar  with  them.  They  also  strive  after  condensa- 
tion, and  carry  it  to  such  an  extent  that  many  phrases 
and  sentences  are  capable  of  different  meanings.  In 
addition,  they  aim  at  beautiful  handwriting  in  which 
to  embody  their  choicest  literature.  Chinese  scholars 
say  that  it  is  impossible  by  translations  to  give  any 
just  conception  of  Chinese  literary  style.  In  this 
chapter  no  attempt  is  made  to  portray  the  aesthetic 
qualities  of  Chinese  literature.  A brief  review  of  the 
literary  achievements  of  the  Chinese  is  given.  This 
should  be  followed  by  quotations  from  descriptive  writ- 
ings, books  on  history,  biography,  science,  poetry, 
novels,  and  dramatic  and  religious  literature;  and 

from  encyclopedias  which  constitute  the  most  char- 

146 


LIFE  REFLECTED  IN  LITERATURE  147 

acteristic  form  of  Chinese  books.  But  this  would 
require  a volume  rather  than  a chapter.  This  knowl- 
edge is  now  furnished  to  students  of  China  through 
Professor  Herbert  A.  Giles’  History  of  Chinese  Lit- 
erature. A slight  and  imperfect  knowledge  of  Chinese 
literature  is  available  through  some  translations  men- 
tioned in  the  “Books  for  Reference.”  Our  chapter 
closes  with  a hundred  Chinese  proverbs,  because  no 
other  portion  of  their  literature  so  reveals  the  char- 
acter of  the  Chinese  and  their  brotherhood  with  hu- 
manity, and  in  so  small  a compass  as  to  make  quota- 
tion practicable. 

The  quantity  of  Chinese  literature  is  very  great. 
Wylie  speaks  of  171,242  books  issued  under  the  impe- 
rial patronage  of  the  JManchu  rulers.^  This  list  in- 
cludes no  novels  or  light  literature,  no  writings  in  the 
vernacular.  It  includes  books  on  Confucianism,  but 
none  on  Buddhism  or  Taoism.  Wylie  speaks  of  a 
Buddhist  encyclopedia  of  one  hundred  and  twenty 
volumes  required  in  the  tenth  century  to  describe  and 
furnish  a digest  of  Buddhist  books,^  and  of  a cata- 
logue of  twenty  volumes  of  Taoist  books.^  If  one 
hundred  and  forty  volumes  were  required  a thousand 
years  ago  to  catalogue  and  briefly  describe  the  books 
on  the  two  less  popular  forms  of  religion,  what  may 
be  expected  on  history,  philosophy,  and  medicine — the 
practical  arts — not  to  mention  dramas,  novels,  and 
light  literature  A further  illustration  of  the  volumi- 
nous literary  work  of  the  Chinese  is  seen  in  the  His- 

> Wylie,  Alexander:  Notes  on  Chinese  Literature,  Introduction,  p.  xxi. 

* Ibid.,  pp.  207,  208. 

’ Ibid.,  pp.  208-224. 

* Longdon,  Samuel:  Thousand  Things  Chinese,  p.  49. 


148  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


tory  of  China  down  to  1747,  in  the  Cambridge  (Eng- 
land) Library  Edition,  two  hundred  and  nineteen 
large  volumes,  several  Chinese  volumes  being  included 
in  each  English  volume.  Again,  the  Kang-hsi’s  Im- 
perial Dictionary  contains  sixty-three  volumes,  each 
as  large  as  the  volume  in  Legge’s  Oxford  Edition  of 
the  Sacred  Books  of  the  East.  Wylie  calls  it  the  larg- 
est book  of  a lexicographical  character  ever  produced.^ 
But  the  quality  of  Chinese  books  is  worthy  of  mention 
as  well  as  the  quantity.  Of  the  history  just  mentioned. 
Dr.  Legge  writes,  “No  nation  has  a history  so  thor- 
oughly digested,  and,  upon  the  whole,  it  is  reliable.”  ® 
Ma  Tuan-Lin  published  in  1321  his  General  Examina- 
tion of  Records  and  Scholars — a huge  encyclopedia 
of  general  information.  Remusat  says,  “This  excel- 
lent work  is  a library  in  itself,  and  if  Chinese  liter- 
ature possessed  no  other,  the  language  would  be  worth 
learning  for  the  sake  of  reading  this  work  alone.” 
Professor  Legge  adds,  “It  does  indeed  display  all  but 
incredible  research  . . . digested  in  three  hundred 
and  forty-eight  books.”  ^ 

The  imagination  of  a people  is  stirred  by  great 
upheavals,  and  these  in  turn  are  in  part  produced  by 
and  in  part  produce  great  characters.  Hence  the  great 
periods  of  Chinese  literature  are  linked  with  great 
events  and  great  characters,  such  as  are  found  in  the 
dynasties  of  the  Hans  (B.  C.  206 — A.  D.  221),  of  the 
T’angs  (A.  D.  620-907),  and  the  Sungs  (A.  D.  960- 
1127).  Indeed,  going  back  to  the  beginnings  of 
Chinese  literature,  we  find  that  of  the  Classics,  com- 

‘ Wylie,  Alexander:  Quoted  in  James  Legge’s  Sacred  Books  of  the  East, 
vol.  i,  p.  135. 

• Legge,  James;  The  Chinese  Classics,  vol.  i,  p.  134. 


» Ibid. 


LIFE  REFLECTED  IN  LITERATURE  149 


piled  by  Confucius,  the  I Ching,  Shu  Ching,  Shih 
Ching,  and  the  Li  Chi  are  forever  linked  with  the  leg- 
endary heroes  Fu-hi,  Shun-nung,  Hwang-ti,  Yao,  and 
Shun.  The  remaining  Classics  compiled  by  Confucius 
are  linked  with  the  early  and  great  historical  char- 
acters Yu,T’ang,  and  Wu  Wang,  founders  of  the  Hia, 
the  Shang,  and  the  Chou  dynasties.  While  apparently 
no  great  and  glorious  events  mark  the  greatest  literary 
age  of  China,  that  of  Lao  Tzu,  Confucius,  Mencius, 
and  Mo-ti,  nevertheless  these  men  were  the  product 
of  the  death-throes  of  the  old  feudal  order,  and  they 
were  the  creators  of  the  China  of  succeeding  millen- 
niums. Shi  Hwang-ti  (B.  C.  221),  who,  despite  his 
despotism  and  cruelty,  and  despite  the  everlasting 
hatred  of  the  Chinese  which  he  incurred,  was,  after  all, 
the  “Napoleon  of  China”  and  the  creator  of  her  na- 
tionality, was  in  some  measure  the  product  of  the  same 
forces  which  produced  Lao  Tzu,  Confucius,  and 
Mencius.  He  was  the  creator  of  China’s  more  imme- 
diate history,  and  they  of  China’s  later  institutions. 

The  early  poetry  of  China  as  embodied  in  the  Shih 
Ching  reflects  in  some  measure  the  aesthetic  sense  of 
the  people,  and  not  one  of  these  early  poems  contains 
an  impure  line.  The  nine  Classics  which  were  com- 
piled in  the  Confucian  era  bear  no  comparison  in  im- 
aginative qualities  with  the  Greek  and  Roman  classics, 
but  they  are  characterized  by  an  elliptical  conciseness 
which  reveals  forceful  personalities  back  of  them. 
They  faithfully  portray  and  strongly  condemn  the 
lewdness,  intemperance,  and  general  wickedness  which 
more  or  less  characterize  all  human  history,  and  reveal 
in  the  writers  a moral  earnestness  seldom  equaled  in 


150  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

Greek  and  Roman  literature.  The  inscriptions  on  the 
famous  stone  drums  at  Peking  are  generally  believed 
to  date  from  King  Hsuan,  B.  C.  827,  and  to  exhibit  the 
Greater  Seal  characters  at  their  best.® 

A dictionary  of  Chinese  characters  was  compiled 
about  B.  C.  400,  and  on  the  basis  of  this  there  was 
gradually  formed  a style  deemed  suitable  for  books. 
The  earliest  proverbs,  which  go  back  certainly  to  the 
fourth  century  before  Christ, **  smack  of  the  soil  and 
of  the  simple  life. 

The  Han  dynasty  (B.  C.  206 — A.  D.  221),  under 
strong  leaders  like  Kao-ti,  Hwei-ti,  Chang-k’ien,  Wu- 
ti,  Wang  Mang,  made  Chinese  history  so  glorious  that 
to  this  day  the  people  love  to  call  themselves  the  “Sons 
of  Han.”  The  fullness  of  life  blossomed  into  litera- 
ture, especially  under  the  Emperor  Ling-ti,  who  had 
the  Classics  carved  in  stone  and  placed  at  the  doors  of 
the  imperial  college.  Corresponding  with  these  great 
men  was  Ssu-ma  Ch’ien,  the  first  great  historian,  who 
wrote  the  history  of  China  from  the  earliest  ages  down 
to  his  own  time,  about  B.  C.  100,  and  included  biog- 
raphies of  the  most  eminent  men  of  China  for  some 
three  thousand  years.  Ssu-ma  Ch’ien’s  research  is 
regarded  by  the  Chinese  as  so  thorough,  the  judgments 
so  just,  and  the  style  so  brilliant  that  he  is  yet  ranked 
as  their  model  historian.  Ts’ai  Lun,  at  the  opening  of 
the  second  century  A.  D.,  substituted  silk  and  ink  for 
bamboo  tablets  for  purposes  of  writing  and  invented 
paper,  making  it  of  silk  and  linen.  These  improve- 
ments contributed  to  literary  activity.^”  The  great 


* Encyclopaedia  Britannica,  vol.  vi,  p.  220,  a. 

• Werner,  E.  T.  C.:  Descriptive  Sociology  of  the  Chinese,  Table  II,  col.  24. 
10  Giles,  Herbert  A.:  Chinese  Biographical  Dictionary,  p.  751,  No.  1977. 


LIFE  REFLECTED  IN  LITERATURE  15 1 

calHgraphist,  Wang  Hsi  Chih,  standardized  Chinese 
writing  in  the  fourth  century  A.  D.,  and  when  black 
printing  was  invented  in  the  ninth  century  A.  D. 
Wang  Hsi  Chili’s  characters  were  adopted  as  the 
model  and  have  largely  so  continued  down  to  the  pres- 
ent day.“ 

The  Period  of  Disruption,  A.  D.  221-589,  was  in 
itself  unfavorable  to  literature,  though  possibly  it  fur- 
nished the  historical  conditions  which  found  literary 
and  artistic  expression  in  the  T’ang  dynasty.  Despite 
its  lack  of  literary  character,  this  period  produced 
Yuan  Chi,  one  of  the  Seven  Poets  of  the  Bamboo 
Grove,  noted  for  his  poems  voicing  the  calamities  of 
his  age;  and  Tsung  Tse,  who  retired  from  the  evils  of 
his  time  to  a mountain  monastery  and  became  the  great 
painter  of  his  age;  and  Hsiin  Hsii,  who  took  a leading 
part  in  editing  the  Bamboo  Books — one  of  the  chief 
literary  sources  of  our  knowledge  of  the  Classics — and 
in  addition  to  this  scholarly  work  helped  revise  the 
Penal  Code,  then  filled  the  highest  administrative  posi- 
tions under  Wu-ti,  and  finally  won  distinction  as  an 
artist.  Indeed,  China  dififers  from  all  other  countries, 
or,  at  any  rate,  surpasses  all  other  countries,  in  the 
large  proportion  of  her  literary  men  who  have  pre- 
viously had  experience  in  administrative  work. 

The  T’ang  dynasty,  A.  D.  620-907,  is  characterized 
by  a great  period  in  Chinese  literature.  Among  the 
rulers  were  T’ai  Tsung  (Li  Shih-min),  who  founded 
the  dynasty  and  extended  the  bounds  of  the  kingdom 
to  the  Caspian  Sea  on  the  west  and  the  Hindu  Kush 
on  the  south.  Under  him  the  Nestorian  missionaries 


**  Encyclopaedia  Britannica,  vol.  vi,  p.  220. 


152  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

were  welcomed  into  China  and  permitted  to  settle  at 
his  capital  in  636.  So  widespread  was  his  reputation 
that  the  Greek  emperor,  Theodosius,  sent  a mission  to 
his  court.  He  was  not  only  a great  warrior  and  a 
great  statesman  but  he  also  fostered  learning.  He 
built  a library  and  collected  one  hundred  thousand 
volumes,  and  two  of  his  proverbs  reveal  his  wit  and 
wisdom:  “Confucius  is  for  the  Chinese  what  water  is 
for  the  fish” ; “With  a mirror  of  brass  you  can  adjust 
your  cap ; with  antiquity  as  a mirror  you  can  forecast 
the  rise  and  fall  of  empires.”  Another  strong  char- 
acter of  this  dynasty  was  Wu  How,  A.  D.  625-705,  the 
usurping  empress,  the  Catharine  the  Great  of  China, 
who  ruled  with  ability  but  enjoyed  the  unenviable  dis- 
tinction of  surpassing  any  other  woman  in  China,  if 
not  in  the  world,  in  her  wickedness,  and  had  the 
presumption  to. call  herself  God  Almighty.^^  The 
Mandarin,  or  Kuan  Hua  dialect,  which  originally  was 
a Kiangnan,  or  south-of-the- Yangtze  speech,  began 
to  emerge  into  notice  as  the  leading  dialect  of  China.^^ 
Kuan  Hua  arose  from  the  reproduction  of  classical 
plays  in  that  dialect.  The  First  Tone  Dictionary  was 
published  during  the  T’ang  dynasty.  Theatrical  plays 
without  moral  significance  were  regarded  as  senseless. 
The  invention  of  printing,  which  occurred  A.  D.  926- 
933,  would  have  marked  an  era  in  the  civilized  world 
had  the  rest  of  the  world  only  known  what  China  had 
done.  This  great  invention,  however,  did  not  produce 
its  full  effect  in  Chinese  literature  until  the  Sung  dy- 
nasty. It,  however,  began  its  influence  immediately 


Giles,  Herbert  A.:  History  of  Chinese  Literature,  p.  883. 
“Werner,  E.  T.  C. : Table  V,  col.  24. 


LIFE  REFLECTED  IN  LITERATURE  153 

by  helping  rapidly  to  fix  the  forms  of  the  characters 
which  so  long  as  they  were  written  hy  hand  had  been 
subject  to  considerable  variation.  But  the  three  great 
literary  leaders  of  the  T’ang  dynasty  all  appeared 
before  the  discovery  of  printing.  They  were  Li  Po 
(A.  D.  705-762),  Tu  Fu  (A.  D.  712-770),  and  Han 
Yii  (A.  D,  768-824).  Of  these,  Li  Po  was  a poet 
at  ten,  became  dissipated  in  early  life,  was  introduced 
to  the  emperor  as  a “Banished  angel,”  was  really  a 
great  poet,  but  drowned  himself  by  falling  out  of 
a boat  in  a drunken  effort  to  embrace  the  moon  whose 
image  he  saw  in  the  Avater  below  him.  Tu  Fu,  one 
of  China’s  famous  poets,  was  first  an  honest  censor 
of  the  empire  who  offended  the  emperor  and  was 
driven  from  power  to  lead  a wandering  life.  Han 
Yii,  born  at  Changli,  Chihli,  was  a poet  and  essayist 
of  the  highest  originality  and  style.  He  surpassed  Li 
Po  and  Tu  Fu  as  a literary  artist  and  the  former  as 
a man  of  character.  One  of  his  contemporaries  said 
of  Han  Yii  that  he  never  opened  one  of  his  writings 
without  first  washing  his  hands  in  rose  water.  An- 
other contemporary  wrote  of  him:  “From  the  age  of 
the  Hans,  truth  began  to  be  obscured  and  literature  to 
fade,  until  Han  Yii,  the  cotton-clothed,  arose  and 
blasted  falsehood  with  a sneer.  But  in  heaven  there 
was  no  music  and  God  was  sad.  Hence  he  summoned 
Han  Yii  to  a place  beside  the  throne.” 

From  the  fall  of  the  T’ang  dynasty  in  907  to  the 
establishment  of  the  Sung  dynasty  in  A.  D.  960,  China 
had  five  short  dynasties  unfavorable  to  literary  pro- 
duction on  account  of  the  turbulent  conditions.  But 


Giles,  Herbert  A.:  Chinese  Biographical  Dictionary,  No.  632;  also  p.  256. 


154  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

the  printing  of  the  nine  Classics  was  enough  to  make 
the  age  a glorious  one  in  literature.  Among  the 
artists  of  this  period  were  Li  Ssu-hsun,  the  great- 
grandson  of  the  founder  of  the  T’ang  dynasty,  and 
his  more  brilliant  son.  These  two  became  the  leaders 
of  the  northern  school  of  art  for  the  T’ang  dynasty. 
Ssu-ma  Kuang  linked  himself  with  the  older  historian, 
Ssu-ma  Ch’ien,  by  his  famous  Mirror  of  History, 
based  upon  the  earlier  writer’s  history.  As  revised 
by  Chu  Hsi  the  Mirror  of  History  has  been  the  ac- 
cepted history  of  China  for  the  last  seven  hundred 
years.  But  while  there  was  a dearth  of  literar}'-  per- 
sons during  this  turbulent  age,  nevertheless  it  pro- 
duced four  women  authors — Sung  Jo-chao,  author  of 
the  Analects  for  Women,  Chu  Shu-cheng,  the  Poetess, 
Chang  Chi,  and  Li  1.^® 

The  Sung  dynasty,  A.  D.  960-1280,  was  one  of  the 
most  productive  periods  in  Chinese  literature  and  art. 
T’ai-tsu,  who  founded  the  dynasty,  and  T’ai-tsung,‘® 
or  Li  Shih-min,^^  his  son,  Jen-tsung,  or  Chao  Chen, 
who  encouraged  literature,  and  Wang  An-shih,  the  re- 
former, are  the  chief  men  of  the  dynasty.  It  was, 
upon  the  whole,  a peaceful  age  and  entered  into  the 
inheritance  of  the  past.  The  great  inheritance  into 
which  the  Sung  dynasty  entered  was  the  invention  of 
printing.^®  The  upheaval  of  the  nation  during  five 
short,  troubled  dynasties,  A.  D.  907-960,  had  involved 
the  people  in  profound  struggles  awakening  deep 
thought;  and  the  invention  of  printing  followed  by  the 

Werner,  E.  T.:  Descriptive  Sociology  of  the  Chinese,  Table  V,  col.  19. 

Encyclopa:dia  Britannica,  vol.  vi,  p.  196,  b. 

Giles,  Herbert  A.:  Chinese  Biographical  Dictionary,  p.  461. 

Werner,  E.  T.  C.:  Descriptive  Sociology  of  the  Chinese,  Table  VI,  col,  38. 


LIFE  REFLECTED  IN  LITERATURE  155 

peaceful  dynasty  of  the  Sungs  gave  the  needful  oppor- 
tunity for  literary  expression.  These  two  factors  com- 
bined made  the  Sung  dynasty  the  Augustan  Age  of 
Chinese  literature  and  Hangchow  the  Rome  of  medi- 
eval China. 

China  was  profoundly  stirred  by  the  visits  of  the 
Polos,  which  enriched  and  clarified  and  intensified  the 
world  vision  of  the  nation;  and  this  enlarged  vision 
found  expression  in  a two-volume  history  of  foreign 
lands,  which  showed  a fair  knowledge  upon  China’s 
part  of  all  central  Asia  as  far  west  as  the  Caspian  Sea, 
of  all  southern  Asia  as  far  southwest  as  Arabia,  and 
of  a portion  of  southern  Europe,  including  Spain. 
This  period  is  marked  by  the  first  appearance  of  en- 
cyclopedias which  have  since  become  an  exceedingly 
popular  and  informing  part  of  Chinese  literature.  As 
already  remarked,  the  introduction  of  printing  fixed 
the  forms  of  the  Chinese  language  and  it  may  be  said 
that  the  language  reached  during  the  Sung  dynasty 
the  form  which  it  has  maintained  down  to  the  present 
time ; as  there  has  been  little  enlargement  of  the  vocab- 
ulary and  only  slight  changes  in  the  forms  of  char- 
acters since  that  date. 

The  Sung  dynasty  is  marked  by  the  great  struggle 
between  the  socialistic  reforms  of  Wang  An-shih  on 
the  one  side,  and  the  Confucian  reaction  on  the  other. 
Both  of  these  movements  grew  out  of  a new  interpre- 
tation of  Confucianism;  Wang  An-shih  interpreting 
it  in  the  terms  of  absolute  imperialism,  with  such  so- 
cialism on  the  part  of  the  emperor  as  befitted  a father 
dealing  with  the  lives  and  property  of  millions  of  chil- 
dren regarded  as  absolutely  his  own,  and  toward 


156  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

every  one  of  whom  he  felt  a fatherly  interest ; and  the 
individualistic  and  materialistic  interpretation  of 
Chinese  history  by  Ssu-ma  Kuang  in  his  three  hun- 
dred and  fifty-four  historical  volumes  called  The 
Mirror  of  History,  condensed  by  Chu  Hsi,  and  in  the 
like  interpretation  of  the  Classics  by  Chu  Hsi. 

The  history  of  Chinese  literature  culminates  in  the 
Sung  dynasty.  This  is  due  to  the  fact  that  the  nation 
has  been  under  foreign  dynasties,  the  Mongols  and  the 
Manchus,  for  most  of  the  time  since  the  Sung  dynasty 
disappeared;  and  to  the  fact  that  there  has  been  an 
arrest  of  civilization  and  no  profound  change  in  the 
national  life  or  thought  for  the  last  six  hundred  years. 

The  Mongol  Period,  A.  D.  1280-1368,  was  marked 
in  politics  and  statesmanship  by  two  great  characters 
— Genghiz  Khan  and  Kublai  Khan.  But  as  these  per- 
sons showed  their  greatness  largely  by  adopting  the 
higher  civilization  of  the  Chinese,  they  produced  no 
profound  change  in  the  substance  of  Chinese  society; 
and  the  Mongol  era  was  at  best  a continuation  upon  a 
lower  plane  of  the  literary  traditions  of  the  Sung  dy- 
nasty rather  than  an  outburst  of  new  life  in  fresh 
forms  of  expression.  Voluminous  commentaries  upon 
the  classical  literature  appeared.  The  little  Three 
Character  Classics  received  its  final  shape  and  entered 
upon  its  career  of  seven  hundred  years  as  the  first  text- 
book for  Chinese  boys.  The  third  dramatic  epoch, 
during  which  dramatic  art  reached  its  highest  level,  oc- 
curred in  this  period,  and  the  drama  was  upon  the  side 
of  morality.  Novels  and  historical  romances,  as  distin- 
guished from  fables  and  short  stories,  began  to  appear ; 
but  the  manners  of  the  age  were  depicted  by  the  drama 


LIFE  REFLECTED  IN  LITERATURE  157 


rather  than  by  the  novel;  and  in  the  drama  little  use 
was  made  of  scenery,  the  actors  appealing  to  the  im- 
agination of  their  audiences  rather  than  to  their  senses. 
Chao  Meng-fu  was  the  greatest  painter  of  the  Mongol 
dynasty  and  ranks  with  the  greatest  artists  of  China. 

The  Ming  Period,  1368-1644,  was  to  a large  extent 
a continuation  of  the  Sung  Period.  Block  printing 
laid  the  foundation  for  stereotyping.  Chinese  archi- 
tecture reached  its  highest  point;  the  temples  and 
tombs  by  their  size  and  impressiveness  fostered  rever- 
ence and  a suppression  of  human  will  upon  the  part  of 
the  worshipers.  The  literature  was  copious  and  great, 
but  less  original  than  in  the  Sung  dynasty.  The  period 
was  characterized  by  gigantic  encyclopedias  and  by 
some  scientific  works  produced  under  the  guidance  of 
the  Jesuits,  who  now  first  introduced  Western  science 
and  knowledge  into  China.  Novels  were  produced  in 
considerable  numbers,  but  there  were  no  really  great 
poets. 

The  Manchu  Period,  1644-1911,  was  characterized 
by  such  political  leaders  as  Nurhachu,  Shun  Chih 
(1644),  Kang-hsi  (1662),  K’ien-lung  (1736),  and 
Tzu  Hsi,  the  late  empress  dowager.  Among  the  class- 
ical writers  of  the  dynasty  are  Ma-ssu,  Wang  Fu-ch’i; 
among  the  painters,  Yun  Shou-p’ing,  Wang-hui,  and 
Huang-ting;  among  the  poets,  Li  O,  Li  T’iao-yiian; 
among  the  historians,  Wu  Chih-i,  and  Ch’en  Huang- 
chung;  among  the  philosophers,  Wei  Hsi.  But  here 
again,  while  Nurhachu,  Kang-hsi,  K’ien-lung,  and  the 
late  empress  dowager  rank  with  the  great  rulers  of 
China,  or  of  any  nation,  nevertheless  these  rulers  were 
foreigners  and  they  produced  no  profound  change  in 


158  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

Chinese  life  and  thought.  Upon  the  contrary,  the  con- 
querors were  so  fully  absorbed  that  the  Manchu  lan- 
guage entirely  disappeared  from  the  court  and  the 
Manchus  were  far  less  able  to  produce  a profound 
influence  upon  the  Chinese  than  are  the  Germanic 
occupants  of  the  English  throne  to  create  a German 
literature,  or  to  exercise  a Germanic  influence  upon 
the  English  people  whom  they  rule. 

As  has  been  previously  indicated  it  is  impossible  for 
China  in  her  impending  struggle  to  hold  her  own  as 
an  independent  nation  among  the  other  great  nations 
of  the  civilized  world  if  she  continues  to  use  so  many 
characters  for  the  expression  of  her  life  that  her  chil- 
dren must  spend  eight  or  ten  years  in  learning  them. 
Already  the  Japanese  have  so  modified  the  written 
Chinese  as  to  create  an  alphabet.  The  first  National 
Conference  of  Education  called  under  the  auspices  of 
the  government  in  1912  recognized  the  language  diffi- 
culty and  appointed  a commission  to  select  or  create  an 
alphabet  for  the  Chinese  language.  This  profound 
revolution  in  the  language  of  the  nation  is  a symptom 
and  a portent.  It  is  a sign  of  the  tremendous  intellect- 
ual revolution  through  which  the  nation  is  passing, 
and  it  is  a prophecy  of  a yet  greater  change  which  will 
follow  this  modification  of  the  language.  Again, 
Western  commerce.  Western  railways,  the  Western 
post  office.  Western  telegraph  lines,  and  countless 
other  Western  inventions,  including  most  significantly 
of  all.  Western  textbooks,  the  Bible,  and  the  Christian 
religion,  are  already  in  China  and  already  are  doing 
their  work.  It  is  as  impossible  for  neo-Confucianists 
to  push  back  these  influences  as  it  is  to  stop  the  stars 


LIFE  REFLECTED  IN  LITERATURE  159 


in  their  courses:  the  transformation  of  the  civilizations 
of  the  Pacific  Basin  into  a world  civilization  will  pro- 
duce profound  changes  in  Chinese  life  and  thought 
which  will  be  reflected  in  Chinese  literature  and  art 
and  worship.  Students  of  China  may  therefore  look 
forward  to  a new  and  original  period  in  Chinese  liter- 
ature during  the  twentieth  and  twenty- first  centuries. 

In  attempting  to  characterize  the  literature  of  China 
we  cannot  do  better  than  to  avail  ourselves  of  the 
scholarly  judgment  of  Professor  Giles : “It  is  remark- 
able, first,  for  its  antiquity  coupled  with  an  unbroken 
continuity  down  to  the  present  day;  second,  for  the 
variety  of  subjects  presented  and  for  the  exhaustive 
treatment  which  not  only  each  subject  but  also  each 
subdivision,  each  separate  item,  has  received,  as  well 
as  for  the  colossal  scale  on  which  many  literary  monu- 
ments have  been  conceived  and  carried  out ; third,  for 
the  accuracy  of  its  historic  statements  so  far  as  it  has 
been  possible  to  test  them ; and,  further,  fourth,  for  its 
ennobling  standards  and  lofty  ideals  as  well  as  for  its 
wholesome  purity  and  almost  total  absence  of  coarse- 
ness and  obscenity.” 

Professor  Giles  also  furnishes  the  four  great  classes 
into  which  the  Chinese  have  been  accustomed  to  divide 
their  literature:  “Under  the  first  of  these  we  find  the 
Confucian  canon  together  with  lexicographical,  philo- 
logical, and  other  works  dealing  with  the  elucidation 
of  words.  Under  the  second,  histories  of  various  kinds 
officially  compiled,  privately  written,  constitutional, 
etc.;  also  biography,  geography,  and  bibliography. 
Under  the  third,  philosophy,  religion,  e.g..  Buddhism ; 


*’  Encyclopaedia  Britannica,  vol.  vi,  p.  222,  d. 


i6o  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


the  arts  and  sciences,  e.g.,  war,  law,  agriculture,  medi- 
cine, astronomy,  painting,  music,  and  archery;  also 
a host  of  general  works,  monographs,  and  treatises  on 
a number  of  topics,  as  well  as  encyclopedias.  The 
fourth  class  is  confined  to  poetry  of  all  descriptions, 
poetical  critiques,  and  works  dealing  with  the  all-im- 
portant rhymes.”  Professor  Giles  tells  us  that  there 
is  no  history  of  Chinese  literature  in  the  Chinese  lan- 
guage. Fortunately,  he  has  remedied  this  lack  in  the 
English  by  his  brief  but  clear  history  of  this  great  sub- 
ject. 

Professor  Giles’s  characterization  of  Chinese  liter- 
ature will  be  accepted  by  all.  Perhaps  an  additional 
remark  is  demanded  upon  two  items  in  his  character- 
ization. He  says  that  Chinese  literature  is  marked 
“by  the  accuracy  of  its  historical  statements  so  far  as 
it  has  been  possible  to  test  them.”  This  statement, 
which  is  true,  helps  to  correct  the  very  prevalent  im- 
pression among  Western  peoples  as  to  the  general 
inaccuracy  of  the  Chinese.  The  impression  has  grown 
up  partly  from  the  fact  that  many  Western  persons 
residing  in  China  have  been  in  contact  largely  with  the 
uneducated  class.  This  class  in  China,  as  in  every 
other  land,  is  noted  for  inaccuracy  of  statement.  A 
larger  knowledge  of  China,  and  especially  of  its  higher 
classes,  will  greatly  increase  the  respect  for  the  thor- 
oughness with  which  educated  Chinese  attend  to  the 
work  committed  to  them ; and  this  thoroughness  natur- 
ally gives  rise  to  accuracy  in  historical  references. 

The  statement  of  Professor  Giles  that  Chinese  liter- 
ature is  remarkable  for  “its  ennobling  standards  and 
lofty  ideals,  as  well  as  for  its  wholesome  purity  and  an 


LIFE  REFLECTED  IN  LITERATURE  i6i 


almost  total  absence  of  coarseness  and  obscenity,”  is 
certainly  true  of  the  classical  literature,  and  of  all  those 
writings  which  the  Chinese  scholars  would  include 
under  literature.  This  fact,  however,  does  not  carry 
with  it  an  assurance  of  the  lofty  type  of  Chinese  con- 
duct in  all  cases,  or  of  the  purity  of  Chinese  conversa- 
tion. We  have  in  Chinese  civilization  a case  in  which 
the  morality  inculcated  in  books  is  powerless  to  enforce 
itself,  and  the  deepest  need  of  China  is  of  some  moral 
and  spiritual  power  which  will  enable  the  people  to 
realize  the  ideals  set  forth  so  nobly  in  her  literature. 
Moreover,  all  those  familiar  with  the  daily  life  of  the 
Chinese  know  that  coarseness  and  obscenity  character- 
ize the  conversation  of  the  common  people  more  than 
these  qualities  characterize  the  conversation  of  the 
people  in  Western  lands.  We  are  assured  that  these 
lower  qualities  characterize  also  many  writings  which 
have  a very  wide  vogue  in  China,  but  which,  being 
written  in  the  vernacular,  the  Chinese  do  not  recog- 
nize as  literature. 

Chinese  literature  has  another  striking  character- 
istic. It  is  concrete  and  practical  and  seeks  to  express 
at  all  times  the  golden  mean.  The  Chinese  mind  is  of 
a practical  cast.  Chinese  excel  Anglo-Saxons — even 
the  American  branch  of  that  stock — in  common  sense. 
They  keep  to  the  level  road  of  experience.  The  pres- 
ence of  the  concrete  and  the  practical  and  the  absence 
of  the  imaginative,  of  the  spiritual  and  eternal,  are 
alike  marks  of  Chinese  literature.  “It  is  not  custom” 
condemns  any  untried  experiments.  In  philosophy 
their  common  sense  finds  its  highest  illustration  in  the 
Chinese  Doctrine  of  the  Mean,  and  in  religion  in  Con- 


i62  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


fucianism,  Chinese  literature  reflects  on  almost  every 
page  the  Chinese  philosophy  of  life. 

But  common  sense  has  its  limitations.  It  seldom 
leads  one  beyond  individualism.  Why  build  a road 
when  you  may  never  travel  this  way  again?  Why 
plant  a tree  when  you  may  not  live  to  gather  the  fruit? 
So,  through  the  presence  of  common  sense  and  the 
lack  of  community  sense,  through  absorption  in  the 
present  and  lack  of  citizenship  in  the  future,  the 
Chinese  are  losing  hundreds  of  millions  by  poor  roads 
and  deforested  hills  and  mountains.  The  Chinese 
lacked  the  imagination  to  see  the  value  of  the  printing 
press  after  they  made  its  discovery,  or  of  gunpowder 
for  defense  against  their  enemies.  Only  as  common 
sense  runs  up  and  out  into  imagination  and  faith  do 
people  become  inventors,  and,  above  all,  hold  their  cit- 
izenship in  heaven,  and  walk  the  earth  “not  after  the 
law  of  a carnal  commandment,  but  after  the  power  of 
an  endless  life.” 

Probably  no  literature  reveals  the  character  of  the 
people  so  well  in  small  space  as  do  national  proverbs. 
A view  of  life  which  even  a poem  requires  a page  to 
express  is  embodied  in  a proverb  in  a couple  of  lines. 
No  nation  attaches  more  importance  to  proverbs  than 
do  the  Chinese.  They  are  constantly  used  in  conversa- 
tion and  in  public  speech,  and  the  orator  in  China  who 
can  find  proverbs  covering  the  issue  which  he  is  press- 
ing usually  gains  his  point.  Nevertheless,  all  Chinese 
scholars  affect  to  despise  proverbs,  and  there  are 
comparatively  few  Chinese  collections  of  them,  on  the 
ground  that  such  work  is  unworthy  of  a scholar. 
This  is  due  to  the  fact  that  the  proverbs  in  almost 


LIFE  REFLECTED  IN  LITERATURE  163 


all  cases  are  embodied  in  the  homely  speech  of  the 
common  people  and  not  in  the  classical  language  of 
the  scholars.  But  despite  this  apparent  contempt 
upon  the  part  of  scholars,  proverbs  probably  exer- 
cise a larger  influence  upon  the  people  than  any  other 
form  of  Chinese  literature;  and  the  scholars  them- 
selves seek  to  be  supplied  with  countless  wise  say- 
ings with  which  to  spice  their  speech.  Sir  J.  F.  Davis 
published  Chinese  Moral  Maxims,  embracing  some 
two  hundred  proverbs,  in  1823.  P.  Ferny,  M.  A.,  pub- 
lished Proverbs  Chinois  in  1869,  embracing  four  hun- 
dred and  forty-nine  proverbs.  J.  Doolittle  furnishes 
some  scattered  lists  of  proverbs  in  his  Llandbook  of 
the  Chinese  Language.  William  Scarborough,  a Wes- 
leyan missionary,  published  in  1873  A Collection  of 
Chinese  Proverbs  numbering  two  thousand  seven  hun- 
dred and  twenty,  with  an  admirable  index.  But  by 
far  the  ablest  discussion  of  Chinese  proverbs,  with  the 
best  exposition  of  the  wise  sayings  of  this  people,  is 
found  in  Arthur  H.  Smith’s  Proverbs  and  Common 
Sayings  of  the  Chinese,  published  in  1902.  Of  the 
volume  of  proverbs  Dr.  Smith  says:  “To  accept  every- 
thing which  is  to  be  found  in  many  Chinese  proverbs 
as  a trustworthy  exponent  of  Chinese  character  and 
thought  would  be  a mistake;  for  some  of  the  sayings 
are  ironical,  and  some  flatly  contradict  others.  But 
whatever  the  subject-matter,  or  however  extravagant 
the  mode  of  expression,  every  Chinese  proverb  contrib- 
utes something  toward  an  apprehension  of  the  point 
of  view  from  which,  and  in  the  light  of  which,  a great 
and  ancient  family  of  mankind  looks  upon  the  tangled 
web  of  human  life,  and  of  the  construction  which  the 


i64  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


experience  of  ages  has  led  them  to  put  upon  its  prac- 
tical problems.  Chinese  proverbs  contain  an  almost 
complete  chart  of  human  nature  as  the  Chinese  under- 
stand it.”  Disraeli,  in  his  Curiosities  of  Literature, 
thinks  there  are  twenty  thousand  proverbs  in  use  in 
Europe.  Scarborough  is  confident  that  China  can  fur- 
nish as  large  a number,  and  Dr.  Smith  accepts  Scar- 
borough’s view. 

It  is  impossible  to  define  a proverb,  to  determine 
whether  a particular  saying  is  proverbial  or  not. 
Many  of  the  proverbs  of  Solomon  would  not  be  recog- 
nized as  proverbs  if  appearing  outside  that  book. 
Probably  the  best  definition  thus  far  given  is  that  by 
Lord  John  Russell:  “The  wisdom  of  many,  the  wit 
of  one.” 

The  following  proverbs  are  taken  chiefly  from  Scar- 
borough’s collection  which  has  been  gone  through 
twice,  with  a period  of  two  years’  interval  between  the 
readings,  in  order  to  select  what  seemed  the  most  char- 
acteristic sayings  of  the  Chinese.  Scarborough  aims 
unduly  at  the  literal,  rather  than  at  embodying  the 
thought  in  words  most  likely  to  recall  the  suggestive- 
ness and  the  terseness  of  the  Chinese  form.  In  a few 
cases  English  proverbs  are  identical  with  Chinese 
proverbs.  In  such  coincidences  the  Chinese  proverb  is 
the  older,  but  the  English  proverb  probably  originated 
in  entire  independence  of  the  Chinese.  Occasionally 
we  have  condensed  Scarborough’s  language,  and  for 
convenience  of  reference  we  have  grouped  the  prov- 
erbs under  headings.  We  also  give,  so  far  as  the  prov- 
erbs are  taken  from  Scarborough,  the  number,  so  that 


*0  Smith,  A.  H.:  Proverbs  and  Common  Sayings  of  the  Chinese. 


LIFE  REFLECTED  IN  LITERATURE  i6 

through  the  use  of  Scarborough’s  volume,  readers  of 
Chinese  can  readily  consult  the  original. 

Ahscnt-Mindcdness 

629.  “Felling  a tree  to  catch  the  blackbird.” 

636.  “Asking  a blind  man  the  road.” 

640.  “Dragging  the  lake  for  the  moon  in  the 
water.” 

623.  “Adding  fuel  to  put  out  the  fire.” 

Accuracy 

1951.  “Deviate  an  inch;  lose  a thousand  miles.” 
Avoiding  Suspicion 

1928.  “Do  not  lace  your  shoes  in  a melon  patch, 

Nor  adjust  your  hat  under  the  plum  trees.” 

Business 

179.  “Without  a smiling  face  do  not  become  a mer- 
chant.” 

1988.  “Better  go  than  send.” 

292.  “Surety  for  the  bow. 

Surety  for  the  arrow.” 

186.  “Great  profits : great  risks.” 

188.  “Easy  to  open  a shop;  hard  to  keep  it  open.” 
233.  “Before  buying,  calculate  the  selling.” 

Compensations 

888.  “The  beautiful  bird  gets  caged.” 

Conscience 

1644.  “Of  all  important  things,  the  first  is  not  to 
cheat  conscience.” 

1641.  “A  good  conscience  pays  badly.” 

1655.  “Do  good  regardless  of  consequences.” 


to 


i66  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


Difficulties 

1 18.  “Easier  said  than  done.” 

790.  “Out  of  the  wolf’s  den,  into  the  tiger’s 
mouth.” 

Divine  Providence 

2353.  “Man  without  divine  assistance, 

Cannot  move  an  inch  of  distance.” 

675.  “Misery  and  happiness  depend  on  oneself.” 

Education 

515.  “Husbandry  and  letters  are  the  two  chief  pro- 
fessions.” 

529.  “Who  teaches  me  for  a day  is  my  father  for 
a lifetime.” 

558.  “All  pursuits  are  mean  in  comparison  with 
learning.” 

575.  “Extensive  reading  is  a priceless  treasure.” 
(Bacon’s  maxim,  “Reading  maketh  a full  man,  con- 
templation a wise  man,  practice  a perfect  man” ; Con- 
fucius’ saying,  “Much  thought  without  study,  vain 
speculation ; much  study  without  thought,  words  with- 
out knowledge.”) 

544.  “Easy  to  learn,  hard  to  master.” 

494.  “Scholars  are  their  country’s  treasure,  and 
the  richest  ornaments  of  the  feast.” 

Effort 

17.  “If  you  do  not  scale  the  mountain  you  cannot 
view  the  plain.” 

103.  “Practice  becomes  second  nature,”  or  “Prac- 
tice makes  perfect.” 


LIFE  REFLECTED  IN  LITERATURE  167 


Example 

45.  “Where  the  prince  leads,  the  people  follow.” 
Family 

We  find  abundant  proverbs  setting  forth  the  duties 
of  children  to  parents;  comparatively  few  settinj:^  forth 
the  duties  of  parents  to  children.  The  omission  of  girls 
from  almost  all  reference  in  proverbial  literature  re- 
lating to  the  family  is  significant. 

2135.  “Strict  fathers,  filial  sons.” 

2137.  “Dutiful  fathers,  dutiful  sons.” 

2157.  “The  prodigal’s  repentance  is  a priceless 
treasure.” 

392.  “In  a united  family  happiness  springs  up  of 
itself.” 

Friendship 

2280.  “Tigers  and  deer  do  not  stroll  together.” 
441.  “When  kinsmen  and  neighbors  continue  sin- 
cere, 

Then  kinsmen  and  neighbors  have  nothing 
to  fear.” 

Gambling 

762.  “Believe  in  gambling,  sell  your  house.” 

761.  “Losing  comes  of  winning  money.” 

Government 

2096.  “If  the  Son  of  Heaven  breaks  law,  he  is 
guilty  like  one  of  the  people.” 

“Heaven  sees  as  the  people  see; 

Heaven  hears  as  the  people  hear.” 

“The  guilty  emperor  exhausts  the  mandate  of  hea- 
ven” (Mencius). 


i68  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


“Killing  a bad  monarch  is  no  murder”  (Mencius). 
“The  emperor  is  the  father  of  his  people,  not  a 
master  to  be  served  by  slaves.” 

577.  “Would  you  know  politics,  read  history.” 

Gratitude 

1906.  “Lambs  have  the  grace  to  suck  kneeling.” 
(Nothing  finer  than  this  in  any  language.) 

Heedlessness 

2080.  “In  at  one  ear,  out  of  the  other.” 
i486.  “Man  cannot  reach  perfection  in  an  hun- 
dred years : he  can  fall  in  a day  with  time  to  spare.” 

Honesty 

219.  “Just  scales  and  full  measure  injure  no  man.” 
1925.  “Never  do  what  you  wouldn’t  have  known.” 
2719.  “However  much  you  promise,  never  fail  to 
pay” ; or,  “Do  not  vary  your  promise  for  any  price.” 

Humanity 

1915.  “Putting  on  clothes,  remember  the  weaver’s 
work; 

Eating  daily  food,  remember  the  farmer’s 
toil.” 

1888.  “Guide  the  blind  over  the  bridge.” 

1898.  “Kindness  is  greater  than  law.” 

Husbands  and  Wives 

2180.  “Nought  must  divide  the  married  pair; 

Its  weight  the  steelyard  cannot  spare.” 
2207.  “If  they  match  by  nature,  marry  them.” 
2235.  “Who  is  the  wife  of  one,  cannot  eat  the  rice 
of  two.” 


LIFE  REFLECTED  IN  LITERATURE  169 

2204.  “In  the  husband  fidelity,  in  the  wife  obe- 
dience.” “Every  family  has  a Goddess  of  Mercy.” 

Humility 

“Falling  hurts  least  those  who  fly  low.” 

Industry 

1830.  “Who  will  not  work  shall  not  eat.” 

Instinct 

2440.  “Plants  surpass  men  in  recognizing  spring.” 
155.  “Does  the  swallow  know  the  wild  goose’s 
Course.” 

Knowledge 

1583.  “Schools  hide  future  premiers.” 

1 1 30.  “The  pen  conveys  one’s  meaning  a thousand 
miles.” 

Laivsuits 

1153.  “Win  your  lawsuit,  lose  your  money.” 

1 147.  “If  one  family  has  a lawsuit,  ten  families  are 
involved.” 

Vanity  of  Life 

1776.  “Naked  we  came,  naked  we  go.” 

936.  “The  Great  Wall  stands ; the  builder  is  gone.” 

Man 

1345.  “Virtuous  men  are  a king’s  treasure.” 

1518.  “Mind  is  lord  of  man.” 

Opportunity 

752.  “Strike  while  the  iron  is  hot.” 

789.  “Spilt  water  cannot  be  gathered  up.” 


Smith,  Arthur  H.:  Chinese  Proverbs,  p.  291. 


170  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


Physicians 

1615.  “Easy  to  get  a thousand  prescriptions ; hard 
to  obtain  a cure.” 

1624.  “The  cleverest  doctor  cannot  save  himself.” 
“He  that  takes  medicine  and  neglects  diet,  wastes 
the  skill  of  the  physician.” 

Priests 

2401.  “Only  those  become  priests  who  cannot  earn 
a living.” 

2394.  “One  son  becomes  a priest,  nine  generations 
are  sure  of  heaven.” 

Procrastination 

2458.  “Procrastination  is  the  thief  of  time.” 

2461.  “Never  waste  time.” 

Practical  Religion 

“God  loves  all  men”  (Mo  Ti). 

2372.  “Better  do  a kindness  near  home  than  go  far 
to  burn  incense.” 

1675.  “To  save  one  life  is  better  than  to  build  a 
seven-story  pagoda.” 

1699.  “Blame  yourself  as  you  would  blame  others : 
excuse  others  as  you  would  yourself.” 

Reciprocity 

“Do  not  do  to  others  what  you  would  not  have  them 
do  to  you”  (Confucius’  Silver  Rule). 

Self-Control 

“Think  twice — and  say  nothing.”  (Better  than  the 
English,  “Think  twice  before  you  speak,”) 


“ Smith,  Arthur  H.:  Chinese  Proverbs,  p.  269. 


LIFE  REFLECTED  IN  LITERATURE  171 


Service 

832.  “One  generation  plants  the  trees;  another 
sits  in  their  shade.” 

868.  “Injure  others,  injure  yourself.” 

Skill 

306.  “Unskilled  fools  quarrel  with  their  tools.” 
317.  “Better  master  of  one  than  jack  of  all  trades.” 

Virtue 

“It  is  a little  thing  to  starve  to  death;  it  is  a serious 
matter  to  lose  one’s  virtue.” 

1837.  “Better  die  than  turn  your  back  on  reason.” 
1936.  “Look  not  on  temptation,  and  your  mind  will 
be  at  rest.” 

Wine 

999.  “Wine  is  the  discoverer  of  secrets.” 

1822.  “Leisure  breeds  lust.” 

1005.  “Intoxication  is  not  the  wine’s  fault,  but  the 
man’s.” 

Women 

1447.  “The  good-looking  woman  needs  no  paint.” 
1461.  “Three  tenths  of  good  looks  are  due  to 
nature;  seven  tenths  to  dress.” 

1742.  “Never  quarrel  with  a woman.” 

Youth 

1432.  “The  mark  must  be  made  in  youth.” 

1434.  “In  the  boy  see  the  man.” 

General 

2253- 


“Better  prevent  than  cure  disease.” 


172  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

1760.  “When  men  come  face  to  face  their  differ- 
ences vanish.” 

1767.  “Do  not  neglect  your  own  in  order  to  weed 
another’s  field.” 

2449.  “Time  flies  like  an  arrow;  days  and  months 
like  a shuttle.^’ 

Books  for  Reference 

Allen,  C.  F.  R. : A Book  of  Chinese  Poetry.  Bowring,  Sir 
John;  The  Flowery  Scroll.  Bushell,  S.  W. ; Chinese  Art  (2 
Vols.).  dementi,  Cecil:  Cantonese  Love  Songs  (2  Vols.). 
Cornaby,  W.  A.:  A String  of  Chinese  Peach  Stones.  Davis, 
J.  F. : The  Poetry  of  the  Chinese ; Chinese  Moral  Maxims. 
Doolittle,  Justus : Handbook  of  the  Chinese  Language.  Doug- 
las, R.  K. : Chinese  Stories.  Encyclopaedia  Britannica.  Giles, 
Herbert  A. : Gems  of  Chinese  Literature ; History  of  Chinese 
Literature.  Hearn,  Lafcadio:  Some  Chinese  Ghosts.  Long- 
den,  Samuel:  A Thousand  Things  Chinese.  Legge,  James: 
edition  of  The  Chinese  Classics  (6  Vols.).  Martin,  W.  A.  P. : 
Chinese  Legends  and  Lyrics.  Perny,  P. : Proverbs  Chinois. 
Scarborough,  William : Collection  of  Chinese  Proverbs.  Smith, 
Arthur:  Chinese  Proverbs.  Stent,  D.  C. : Chinese  Poems  (2 
Vols.).  T.  T.  T. : The  Porcelain  Tower.  Watters,  T. : Stories 
from  Every  Day  Life  in  Modern  China.  Wylie,  A.:  Notes  on 
Chinese  Literature. 


CHAPTER  VII 


i 

I 

; 


1 LIFE  REFLECTED  IN  PHILOSOPHY:  TAOISM 
[ AND  ITS  SCHOOLS 

I Chinese  philosophy  sufTers  from  three  limitations: 

■ first,  the  language  of  the  Chinese  is  slightly  ideo- 
graphic, and  wholly  uninflected.  It  is  adequate  for 
the  description  of  concrete  objects.  It  is  remark- 
able for  its  terseness  and  its  strength  and  perhaps  it  is 
sufficient  for  the  expression  of  the  indefinite,  mystical 
philosophy  of  the  Lao  Tzu,  and  the  transcendental 
philosophy  of  the  I Ching.  Indeed,  Professor  Giles 
and  modern  Chinese  scholars  lean  toward  the  view 
that  the  language  is  capable  of  expressing  philosoph- 
ical conceptions  with  a fair  degree  of  accuracy.^  But 
all  will  admit  that  at  this  point  Plato,  Socrates,  and 
Aristotle  had  a great  advantage  over  Confucius,  Lao 
Tzu,  and  Mencius. 

A second  difficulty  is  the  lack  of  a proper  method- 
ology or  logic.  By  setting  forth  the  method  of  true 
reasoning  and  pointing  out  the  danger  of  mistaken 
reasoning,  Aristotle  did  much  to  make  a system  of 
philosophy  possible.  But  the  Chinese  have  never  de- 
veloped logic  in  the  strict  sense  of  the  term.  We  know 
of  no  ancient  Chinese  treatises  which  distinguish 
clearly  between  observation,  induction,  and  deduction 
— three  stages  involved  in  all  attempts  to  rationalize 

^ Encyclopsdia  Britannica,  vol.  vi,  p.  232. 

173 


174  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

experience.  For  a field  of  investigation  so  vague  and 
indefinite  as  is  philosophy,  the  lack  of  well-organized 
laws  of  reasoning  is  a serious  limitation. 

The  third  difficulty  is  the  practical  cast  of  the 
Chinese  mind.  This  characteristic  is  so  pronounced 
that  some  foreigners  deny  the  Chinese  the  possession 
of  the  transcendental  bent  of  mind.  They  forget  Lao 
Tzu  and  his  followers.  Others  claim  that  Lao  Tzu 
borrowed  his  transcendental  views  from  Buddha.  But 
Lao  Tzu  was  a contemporary  of  Buddha,  and  ideas 
traveled  slowly  in  those  days  and  regions,  so  that 
Buddhism  did  not  reach  China  until  long  after  Lao 
Tzu’s  death.  Besides,  if  some  of  the  followers  of  Lao 
Tzu  have  borrowed  and  developed  Buddhistic  con- 
ceptions, nevertheless  the  borrowing  and  developing 
of  transcendentalism  by  later  Chinese  indicates  the 
possession  of  the  capacity  for  lofty,  mystical  specula- 
tion. But  while  transcendentalism  always  has  existed 
among  the  Chinese,  nevertheless  the  predominant  bent 
of  the  Chinese  mind  is  practical,  and  Chinese  thought 
is  prone  to  materialism.  Indeed,  it  is  this  practical 
cast  of  the  national  mind  which  enabled  the  philosophy 
of  Confucius  to  triumph  over  the  teachings  of  Lao 
Tzu  and  Mo  Ti, 

These  three  limitations  to  philosophy — the  lack  of 
a language  capable  of  expressing  exact  philosophical 
distinctions,  the  lack  of  a logic  or  methodology,  and 
the  predominance  of  the  practical  type  of  mind — have 
made  the  Chinese  less  eminent  in  philosophy  than  the 
Greeks  or  the  Germans.  Notwithstanding  this,  only 
our  ignorance  of  Chinese  philosophical  literature  has 
led  to  the  judgment,  often  expressed,  that  the  Chinese 


LIFE  REFLECTED  IN  PHILOSOPHY  175 

are  destitute  of  philosophy.  Thomas  Taylor  Mea- 
dows, perhaps  the  most  philosophical  Western  writer 
upon  China,  says,  “Philosophy,  systematized  and  un- 
systematized, has  penetrated  into  popular  life  and  in- 
fluenced popular  language  to  an  extent  perhaps  un- 
equaled in  the  later  history  of  any  other  people.”  ^ 
The  Imperial  Library  in  B.  C.  190  contained  two  thou- 
sand seven  hundred  and  five  volumes  on  Chinese  phi- 
losophy by  one  hundred  and  thirty-seven  different 
authors.^  This  statement  gives  us  some  conception 
of  the  mass  of  Chinese  philosophical  literature  before 
the  time  of  Christ.  It  should  be  remarked  that  a 
Chinese  volume  usually  does  not  contain  as  much 
matter  as  a Western  volume.  But  an  illustration  of 
the  wealth  of  Chinese  philosophical  literature  is  found 
in  the  fact  that  while  Baldwin’s  Dictionary  of  Philos- 
ophy embraces  only  three  volumes,  the  Chinese  Im- 
perial Encyclopedia  of  Philosophy  embraces  three 
hundred  and  sixty  volumes. 

Chinese  philosophy  finds  its  earliest  embodiment  in 
The  Chinese  Classics  edited  by  Confucius,  B.  C.  551- 
478.  The  complete  edition  of  the  Classics  was  pub- 
lished by  the  order  of  the  Emperor  Tai-Tsung,  A.  D. 
1403-1425.  Tai-Tsung  also  had  the  commentaries  on 
the  Classics  condensed,  arranged,  and  published  in 
sixteen  volumes,  each  of  unusual  size,  called  the  Com- 
plete Philosophy : this  work  would  fill  in  English  more 
than  sixteen  volumes  of  large  octavo  size.  Later,  the 
Emperor  Kang-hi  had  a condensed  edition  of  the  Com- 
plete Philosophy,  prepared  and  published  in  four  vol- 


• Meadows,  T.  T.:  The  Chinese  and  Their  Rebellions,  p.  68. 

* Wylie,  Alexander:  Notes  on  Chinese  Literature,  Introduction,  p.  xiv. 


i;6  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

umes,  entitled  Philosophy’s  Essential  Signification,  or 
The  Essence  of  Philosophy, 

The  creative  periods  of  Chinese  philosophy  may  be 
roughly  divided  as  follows:  (i)  B.  C.  1 100-300,  the 
period  in  which  the  transcendental  philosophy  found 
its  highest  embodiment  in  the  I Ching  and  the  Tao  Teh 
Ching;  (2)  B.  C.  551-289,  the  period  in  which  the 
Confucian  philosophy  found  its  most  brilliant  interpre- 
tation through  Confucius  and  Mencius  and  in  which 
Mo  Ti  in  some  measure  anticipated  the  Christian  doc- 
trine of  love.  These  periods  overlap  each  other  simply 
because  some  of  the  most  brilliant  writers  of  the  two 
periods  were  contemporaries.  These  two  periods  were 
followed  by  some  thirteen  hundred  years  of  compara- 
tive barrenness  in  philosophical  literature,  A third 
period  was  inaugurated  about  A.  D.  950  following  the 
invention  of  block  printing  in  China,  some  five  hun- 
dred years  before  printing  was  invented  in  Europe.  It 
culminated  in  Chu-Hsi’s  great  commentary  on  the 
Classics,  A.  D.  1200. 

Classifying  the  periods  in  which  the  various  types 
of  philosophy  were  predominant  gives  the  following 
result:  B.  C.  2500-400,  Transcendentalism,  Mysticism, 
Superstition;  B.  C.  400-A.  D.  1900,  Confucianism. 
This  attempted  division  of  the  period  of  the  two  reign- 
ing philosophies  in  China  is  somewhat  unsatisfactory 
because  the  theories  which  found  embodiment  in  Con- 
fucianism undoubtedly  appeared  in  Chinese  thought 
before  the  birth  of  Confucius,  B.  C.  551.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  transcendental  and  mystical  philosophy  does 
not  disappear  with  the  triumph  of  Confucianism  in  the 
third  or  fourth  century  before  Christ.  Transcen- 


LIFE  REFLECTED  IN  PHILOSOPHY  177 

(lentalism,  mysticism,  and  especially  superstition,  have 
continued  down  to  the  present  time.  Nevertheless,  it 
is  safe  to  say  that  the  predominant  philosophy  in  China 
during  the  early  period  of  her  history  down  to  B.  C. 
400  was  the  mystical,  transcendental  philosophy  which 
found  its  highest  embodiment  in  the  teachings  of  Lao 
Tzu;  and  that  the  predominant  philosophy  of  China 
from  B.  C.  400  down  to  the  present  is  the  common 
sense,  rational,  skeptical  and  materialistic  philosophy, 
with  a strong  moral  bias,  which  found  its  highest  em- 
bodiment in  the  teachings  of  Confucius,  the  Sage  of 
China. 

Classifying  the  religions  from  their  philosophical 
affinities,  Taoism  was  the  outgrowth  of  the  early  tran- 
scendental philosophy,  and  may  be  treated  on  its  phil- 
osophical side  under  this  first  period.  Buddhism, 
while  originating  in  India,  has  displayed  some  affinity 
for  transcendentalism  and  superstition  from  its  earliest 
recorded  introduction  into  China  in  B.  C.  217  down  to 
the  present  time.  Confucianism,  on  the  other  hand,  has 
in  general  been  associated  with  rationalism  and  mate- 
rialism. While  these  three  religions  of  China  inter- 
mingle somewhat  in  their  philosophy,  and  more  fully 
in  their  following,  nevertheless  they  tend  in  general 
to  represent  two  conceptions  of  the  world  and  of  hu- 
man life:  Taoism  and  Buddhism  present  a predomi- 
nantly supernatural  view  of  life,  constantly  verging 
toward  quietism  and  superstition ; while  Confucianism 
stands  predominantly  for  the  ethical  conception  of  life 
and  tends  toward  skepticism  and  materialism.  We 
shall  discuss  Taoism  and  Buddhism  in  the  present 
chapter  and  treat  Confucianism,  which  is  vastly 


1 


178  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

more  important  for  its  practical  influence  over  the 
Chinese,  in  the  two  succeeding  chapters. 

I.  The  I Ching — Dualism,  Transcendentalism, 
Superstition — B.  C.  2500-400 

The  earliest  Chinese  philosophy  is  found  in  the  notes 
added  to  the  I Ching.  The  word  “Ching”  means  book, 
and  especially  any  sacred  book,  corresponding  in 
meaning  to  our  word  “Bible.”  The  “I”  consisted 
originally  of  eight  trigrams  and  of  sixty-four  hexa- 
grams ; and  these  trigrams  and  hexagrams  were  made 
up  of  the  combination  of  unbroken  and  broken  lines 
arranged  in  such  a manner  as  not  to  repeat  the  com- 
bination, thus:  =-r^. ■ ■ . These 

lines  and  their  grouping  are  supposed  by  some  to  date 
from  Fu-hi,  a mythological  character,  who  is  assigned 
to  B.  C.  2853-2738.^  The  impossibility  of  making  any 
sense  out  of  these  lines  in  their  original  form  has  led 
to  the  use  of  the  I Ching  for  purposes  of  divination. 
The  Duke  of  Chow,  Wen-wang,  B.  C.  1122,  during 
three  years  in  prison  probably  wrote  the  first  notes  or 
commentary  upon  these  lines  which  came  down  to 
Confucius.'^  Confucius  was  greatly  enamoured  of  these 
mathematical  lines,  for  there  was  a transcendental 
side  to  his  nature  as  well  as  a practical  side;  and  he 
compiled  with  additions  of  his  own  a commentary  upon 
them.  Confucius  said  that  if  he  could  devote  fifty 
years  to  the  study  of  these  lines,  he  might  attain  wis- 
dom. These  lines  were  an  attempt  to  account  for  the 
origin  of  nature  on  mathematical  principles.  Numbers 


* Encyclopaedia  Britannica,  vol.  vi,  p.  191,  b. 
‘Ibid.,  vol.  vi,  p.  193,  a. 


LIFE  REFLECTED  IN  PHILOSOPHY  179 

were  conceived  not  as  relations  predicable  of  things, 
but  as  constituting  the  essence  of  things.  They  are 
the  rational  reality  to  which  the  appearances,  as  expe- 
rienced by  the  senses,  are  reducible.”  Indeed,  the 
Chinese  Buddhists  have  carried  this  transcendental 
conception  of  the  universe  so  far  as  to  hold  that 
thought  produces  reality.  Thought  has  creative  force. 
It  acts  like  magic.'^  Again,  the  Buddhists  hold  that 
“by  fixedly  imagining  that  the  souls  in  hell — hungry, 
thirsty,  indescribably  miserable — are  fed,  clothed,  re- 
freshed, and  relieved,  the  clergy  magically  refreshed 
and  redeemed  these  souls  in  reality.”  ® 

It  is  at  least  striking  that  Pythagoras  among  the' 
Greeks,  B.  C.  586,  held  a view  quite  similar  to  that 
advanced  by  early  commentators  on  the  I Ching  and 
attempted  to  explain  nature  on  mathematical  prin- 
ciples. He  made  numbers  the  basis  of  his  philosophical 
system.  The  early  Pythagoreans  discovered  the  har- 
monic intervals  which  underlie  musical  notes.  Im- 
pressed by  the  musical  relations  which  they  found  in 
nature,  they  enunciated  the  doctrine,  “All  things  are 
numbers.”  As  Aristotle  puts  their  teaching,  num- 
bers seem  to  them  the  “first  things  in  nature.”  Pro- 
fessor Giles  writes,  “What  we  may  call  modern 
Chinese  music  reached  China  through  Bactria,  a Greek 
kingdom  founded  by  Diodotus,  B.  C.  256.” *  * He  holds 
that  the  Chinese  system  of  music  and  their  philosophy 
of  numbers  were  derived  from  Pythagoras.^”  But,  as 
the  Bactrian  Kingdom  through  which  the  Chinese  are 

• Ibid.,  vol.  xxii,  p.  699,  c. 

’ Groot,  J.  J.  M.,  de:  The  Religion  of  the  Chinese,  p.  181. 

• Encyclopaedia  Britannica,  vol.  vi,  225,  b. 

“ Ibid.,  vol.  xxii,  p.  699. 


• Ibid. 


i8o  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


supposed  to  have  received  their  music  from  Greece 
was  not  founded  until  B.  C.  256,  as  Mencius  died 
B.  C.  289,  and  as  Mencius  mentions  the  five  notes  of 
Chinese  music, “ we  regard  the  likeness  between 
Chinese  and  Greek  thought  as  a coincidence  rather 
than  a case  of  borrowing  on  either  side.  It  is  also  sig- 
nificant that  the  philosophy  of  the  I Ching  and  the 
Pythagoreans  and  the  teachings  of  Buddhism  antici- 
pate the  absolute  idealism  of  Hegel. 

The  Chinese  developed  more  fully  than  either  the 
Greeks  or  the  Germans  the  dualistic  side  of  early  phi- 
losophy, accounting  for  the  universe  on  the  theory  of 
parenthood,  and  accounting  for  parenthood  through 
the  Yang  and  the  Yin,  that  is,  the  male  and  female 
principles.  Hence,  while  there  are  traces  of  monism 
and  transcendentalism  running  through  the  earliest 
notes  on  the  I Ching,  nevertheless  these  notes  as  re- 
vised by  Confucius  explain  the  origin  of  the  universe 
upon  the  principle  of  parenthood.  But  while  early 
Chinese  philosophers  give  a dualistic  explanation  of 
nature,  nevertheless  they  apparently  carry  this  dual- 
istic explanation  back  to  a monistic  principle.  Pro- 
fessor Legge^^  quotes  these  two  sentences  from  Con- 
fucius’s Appendix  on  the  I Chang:  ‘‘The  successive 
movements  of  the  inactive  and  active  elements  make 
what  is  called  the  course  (of  things  in  nature).” 
“That  which  is  unfathomable  in  [the  movement  of] 
the  inactive  and  active  elements  is  what  we  call  [the 
presence  of  a]  spiritual  (operation).”  Professor 
Legge  comments  as  follows:  “Confucius  felt  that  all 
which  appeared  in  the  Yi  [I]  did  not  account  for  all 


“ Encyclopfficlia  Britannica,  vol.  xviii,  p.  112,  c. 


**  Notes  on  the  I Ching. 


LIFE  REFLECTED  IN  PHILOSOPHY  i8i 


that  took  place  in  the  world  of  fact.  Given  the  distinc- 
tion of  the  states  of  matter  into  inactive  and  active; 
given  also  the  agencies  of  expansion  and  contraction 
— there  was,  after  all,  something  unfathomable  in 
every  phenomenon,  and  in  that  unfathomableness  the 

(Sage  recognized  the  working  of  a spiritual  power,” 
The  “I”  is  often  said  to  be  the  source  of  all  things,  and 
I this  “I”  is  represented  as  an  “absolute  principle,  not 
I conscious,  not  laboring,  but  nevertheless  quickened 
with  the  reason  of  the  universe,”  “If  it  were  not  the 
most  spiritual  thing  in  the  universe,  how  could  it  be- 
have in  this  wise  ?”  “ Apparently,  therefore,  the  mon- 
istic or  pantheistic  principle  is  prior  in  Chinese  philos- 
ophy, In  early  Greek  philosophy  as  in  early  Chinese 
philosophy  we  find  the  monistic  or  pantheistic  explana- 
tion of  the  universe  lying  side  by  side  with  the  dual- 
istic  principle,  though  in  Greek  philosophy  the  mon- 
istic principle  gradually  supplants  dualism.  Probably 
the  general  resemblance  between  Greek  and  Chinese 
philosophy  is  due  to  the  tendency  of  human  minds  to 
fall  into  similar  lines  of  thought  in  grappling  with 
common  problems, 

II,  The  Tao  Teh  Ching — Monism,  Mysticism, 
Transcendentalism — B,  C,  604-550 

The  second  philosophical  book  of  note  is  the  Tao 
Teh  Ching,  by  Lao  Tzu,  Lao  Tzu  is  said  to  have 
been  born  B,  C,  604,  to  have  been  a scholar  absorbed 
in  speculation  instead  of  striving  for  success  in  prac- 
tical affairs.  He  is  said  to  have  had  an  interview  with 
Confucius  in  B,  C,  517,  when  he  was  eighty-seven 


**  Notes  on  the  I Ching, 


Ibid, 


i82  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


years  old.  Confucius  was  only  thirty-three  at  this 
time  and  is  said  to  have  been  deeply  impressed  by  the 
old  philosopher,  though  Lao  Tzu  lightly  esteemed  the 
young  philosopher.  At  a later  date,  discouraged  over 
the  failure  of  men  to  accept  his  philosophy,  Lao  Tzu 
is  said  to  have  started  on  a journey  westward.  The 
gatekeeper  of  the  pass  through  which  he  departed 
from  his  native  land  appealed  to  him  to  write  out  an 
account  of  his  teachings,  and  the  Tao  Teh  Ching, 
which  is  about  half  the  length  of  Mark’s  Gospel,  is 
said  to  be  the  result  of  this  request.  As  the  book  is  not 
mentioned  in  Chinese  literature  until  some  four  cen- 
turies after  its  alleged  date  of  composition,^®  Western 
writers  regard  the  Tao  Teh  Ching  not  as  the  authentic 
writing  of  Lao  Tzu,  but  as  embodying  what  was  pre- 
served by  tradition  of  his  oral  teaching.  The  word 
“Tao”  in  this  title  has  a meaning  somewhat  similar 
to  that  assigned  to  the  word  “I”  in  the  title  of  the  first 
book  on  Chinese  philosophy.  The  best  translation 
of  “Tao”  is  the  Greek  word  “Logos,”  as  used  in  John’s 
Gospel.  It  has  been  defined  by  the  words  “reason,” 
“the  way,”  “life,”  etc.  Perhaps  the  best  translation  of 
“teh”  in  the  title  to  Lao  Tzu’s  book  is  the  word  “vir- 
tue,” though  here  again  “teh”  is  very  indefinite  and 
has  many  meanings  beyond  that  expressed  by  the 
simple  word  “virtue.” 

Lao  Tzu  carried  still  farther  than  the  commentators 
on  the  I Ching  the  tendency  which  Hegel  developed  in 
modern  philosophy  to  identify  thought  and  things ; and 
also  the  conviction  that  each  form  of  existence  carries 
with  it  its  opposite  in  reality  as  well  as  in  thought. 


“ Encyclopaedia  Britannica,  vol.  vi,  p.  226.  b. 


LIFE  REFLECTED  IN  PHILOSOPHY  183 

“When  man  speaks  of  beauty  as  beautiful,  ugliness  is 
at  once  defined  or  at  once  arises  in  the  mind.  When 
goodness  is  seen  to  be  good,  evil  is  at  once  apparent. 
So  too  existence  and  nonexistence  give  rise  to  each 
other.”  This  leads  Lao  Tzu  to  hold  that  existence 
and  nonexistence  are  not  only  correlates  of  thought 
) but  correlates  of  being,  each  giving  rise  to  the  other. 
Undoubtedly,  the  transcendental,  monistic,  mystical 
lore  which  appears  throughout  the  Tao  Teh  Ching 
had  been  preceded  by  a similar  speculation,  because 
transcendentalism  appears  in  an  advanced  stage  in 
the  Tao  Teh  Ching.  The  Chinese  language  is  admir- 
ably adapted  to  the  epigrammatic  and  aphoristic  ex- 
pression of  the  indefinite  thought  of  this  book.  The 
first  chapter  of  the  book  furnishes  one  some  idea  of 
its  contents.  “The  reason  that  can  be  reasoned  is  not 
the  eternal  reason.  The  name  that  can  be  named  is 
not  the  eternal  name.  The  unnamable  is  the  beginning 
of  heaven  and  earth.  The  namable  is  the  mother  of 
all  things.  Therefore,  in  eternal  nonbeing  I wish  to 
see  the  spirituality  of  things;  and  in  eternal  being  I 
wish  to  see  the  limitation  of  things.  These  two  things 
are  the  same  in  source  but  diflferent  in  name.  It  is 
called  a mystery.  Indeed,  it  is  the  mystery  of  mys- 
teries. It  is  the  door  of  all  speculation.”  This  chap- 
ter in  its  English  form  is  sufificiently  bewildering;  but 
the  Chinese  form  is  still  more  vague.  To  illustrate  the 
vague  and  transcendental  character  of  Lao  Tzu’s 
thought,  we  furnish  another  translation  of  the  same 
chapter.  “The  ‘Tao’  which  can  be  explained  in  words 
is  not  the  eternal  ‘Tao.’  The  name  which  can  be 


Old,  W.  G.:  A New  Translation  of  the  Tao  Teh  King,  chap.  i. 


1 84  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


uttered  is  not  the  eternal  name.  Without  a name  it  is 
the  beginning  of  heaven  and  earth.  With  a name  it 
is  the  mother  of  all  things.  Only  one  who  is  eternally 
free  from  earthly  passions  can  comprehend  its  spiritual 
essence.  He  who  is  ever  clogged  by  passions  can  see 
no  more  than  its  outer  form.  These  two  things — the 
spiritual  and  the  material,  though  we  call  them  by 
different  names,  in  their  origin  are  one  and  the  same. 
This  sameness  is  a mystery ; the  mystery  of  mysteries 
— it  is  the  gate  of  all  spiritualitv.”^^  This  brief  chapter 
shows  that  at  least  one  Chinese  can  rival  an  Emerson 
or  a Hegel  in  vagueness  and  transcendentalism. 

But  while  one  is  apt  to  stumble  over  such  mysticism, 
it  is  possible  to  cite  abundant  matter  for  meditation 
and  spiritual  guidance  in  other  teachings  by  Lao  Tzii. 
“Both  heaven  and  earth  endure  a long  time.  The  cause 
of  their  endurance  is  their  indifference  to  long  life. 
Thus  the  wise  man  indifferent  to  himself  is  the  great- 
est among  men;  and  taking  no  care  of  himself  he  is 
nevertheless  preserved.  By  being  the  most  unselfish 
he  is  the  most  secure  of  all.”  Again  the  Sage  writes : 
“It  is  advisable  to  refrain  from  continual  reaching 
after  wealth.  If  the  house  be  full  of  jewels,  who  shall 
protect  it?  Wealth  and  glory  bring  care  along  with 
pride.  To  stop  when  good  work  is  done  and  honor  is 
advancing  is  the  way  of  heaven.”  Again  the  Sage 
counsels  us:  “By  mastering  the  passions  and  letting 
gentleness  have  sway  it  is  possible  to  continue  as  a 
child.  By  purging  the  mind  of  impurity  it  is  possible 
to  preserve  it  from  rust.  To.bring  forth  and  preserve. 


Giles,  Lionel:  The  Sayings  of  Laotze,  chap.  i. 
The  China  Review,  vol.  xvii.  No.  4. 


LIFE  REFLECTED  IN  PHILOSOPHY  185 

to  produce  without  possessing,  to  act  without  hope  of 
reward,  and  to  spend  without  waste — this  is  the  su- 
preme virtue.”  Again  Lao  Tzu  writes:  “Lie  who 
bestows  the  same  love  upon  others  as  he  does  upon 
himself  may  be  intrusted  with  the  government  of  an 
empire.”  “God  is  eternally  at  rest,  yet  there  is  noth- 
ing that  he  does  not  do.”  “He  who  humbleth  himself 
shall  be  exalted:  he  who  exalteth  himself  shall  be 
humbled.”* *^  Candid  readers  of  the  Tao  Teh  Ching 
regard  General  Alexander’s  translation  as  lacking  in 
accuracy  and  influenced  by  Christian  philosophy. 
But  the  book  itself,  in  the  translation  of  Legge  or  of 
Lionel  Giles,  or  of  Paul  Cams,  is  well  worth  the  mod- 
ern student’s  attention.  Professor  G.  von  der  Gabe- 
lenz,  of  Leipsic,  said  of  the  Tao  Teh  Ching:  “One  of 
the  most  eminent  masterpieces  of  the  Chinese  lan- 
guage ; one  of  the  profoundest  philosophical  books  the 
world  has  ever  produced.”  Moreover,  students  of 
philosophy  should  bear  in  mind  the  fact  that  while 
dualism  as  the  philosophic  explanation  of  the  world 
is  found  along  with  monism  in  the  I Ching,  monism 
or  pantheism  as  a single  force  or  principle  or  sub- 
stance or  mind  is  the  explanation  of  the  universe  in 
the  Tao  Teh  Ching. 

III.  Yang  Chu — Epicureanism,  Hedonistic  In- 
dividualism— B.  C.  600-500 

Possibly  Yang  Chu  was  a younger  contemporary  of 
Lao  Tzu  and  received  some  instruction  from  him. 
The  exhortation  of  the  Tao  Teh  Ching  to  follow  na- 

G.  G.  Alexander's  Translation  of  the  Tao  Teh  Ching,  chap.  xiii. 

* Ibid.,  chap,  xxxvii.  21  ibid.,  chap.  xlii. 

2^Gabelenz,  G.  von  der:  Tao  Teh  Ching,  chap.  vii. 


i86  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


ture  and  not  to  be  anxious  for  virtue,  and  especially 
the  absence  throughout  that  book  of  any  sense  of  sin, 
enables  Taoism  which  naturally  calls  forth  the  highest 
in  man,  nevertheless  to  lend  itself  to  a ready  compli- 
ance with  the  lower  instincts  of  human  nature.  Yang- 
chu  developed  this  side  of  Lao  Tzu’s  philosophy  to  its 
logical  end.  Yang-chu  might  have  triumphed  over 
the  more  puritanical  teachings  of  Confucius  had  not 
Mencius  brilliantly  attacked  his  teachings  and  rallied 
the  common  sense,  the  conservative  instincts,  and  the 
moral  motives  of  the  Chinese  to  Confucius’  side. 

Yang-chu  left  no  book,  for  he  did  not  care  enough 
for  humanity  to  write  out  his  conception  of  human  life. 
He  denied  all  distinction  between  virtue  and  vice,  be- 
tween glory  and  shame.  As  a thorough  materialist, 
as  well  as  epicurean,  he  held  that  death  ends  all.  Hence 
his  practical  advice  was:  “Eat,  drink,  and  be  merry. 
Get  slaves  and  wine  and  women,  and  if  the  days  are 
not  sufficient,  spend  the  nights  also  in  pleasure  while 
the  brief  span  of  life  lasts.”  Materialism  and  epicu- 
reanism apparently  never  had  a more  brilliant  or 
logical  advocate  than  is  found  in  the  pictures  given  of 
Yang-chu.  We  are  glad  to  add  that  there  was  another 
side  to  Yang-chu’s  character.  There  are  passages  in 
his  reported  conversations  which  remind  one  of  the 
better  side  of  Rousseau  and  of  the  simple  artlessness 
of  Paul  and  Virginia. 

IV.  Mo  Ti — Utilitarian  Altruism,  Socialism — 
B.  C.  600-500 

Mo  Ti  was  a philosopher  of  the  Sung  state  and  prob- 
ably of  the  sixth  and  fifth  centuries  before  Christ.  The 


LIFE  REFLECTED  IN  PHILOSOPHY  187 

Encyclopaedia  Britannica^®  puts  him  in  the  fifth  and 
fourth  centuries  B.  C.  As  his  birth  is  unknown  and 
he  stands  in  no  philosophical  relation  with  Confucius, 
but  antagonizes  Yang-chu,  it  is  better  to  treat  the  two 
together.  Mo  Ti  is  best  characterized  as  a utilitarian 
altruist.  As  over  against  Yang-chu  he  developed  the 
altruistic  side  of  Lao  Tzu’s  teachings  to  the  highest 
point ; but  he  based  most  of  his  arguments  in  favor  of 
altruism  upon  utilitarian  grounds.  He  held  official 
posts  like  most  of  the  learned  men  of  China.  His  work 
consists  in  one  book  of  fifty-three  chapters,  or,  as  the 
Chinese  would  say,  of  fifty-three  books.  It  is  probable 
that  not  one  of  these  was  directly  written  by  Mo  Ti. 
They  consist  probably  of  tracts  written  by  his  per- 
sonal disciples  after  his  death.  Mo  Ti’s  doctrine  did 
not  commend  itself  to  the  practical  Chinese,  despite 
the  utilitarian  grounds  upon  which  he  largely  urged  it. 
Moreover,  Mo  Ti  as  well  as  Yang-chu  was  thoroughly 
discredited  by  the  more  brilliant  Mencius.  Hence  his 
book  suffered  neglect  for  centuries,  and  it  contains  so 
many  corruptions  of  the  text  and  so  many  textual  dis- 
crepancies that  it  is  impossible  to  tell  what  part  is  the 
teaching  of  ^lo  Ti,  and  what  is  the  work  of  commenta- 
tors. But  the  work  doubtless  contains  the  substance  of 
Mo  Ti’s  teachings.  Dr.  Ernst  Faber  gives  in  German 
an  abstract  of  each  of  the  fifty-three  books  and  David 
published  in  1907  a French  work  on  Mo  Ti’s  philoso- 
phy. We  know  no  work  in  English  upon  him,  or  his 
philosophy,  though  an  excellent  summary  by  Uong 
Di  Gi,  of  Foochow,  translated  by  H.  R.  Caldwell,  is 
in  manuscript. 


® Encyclopaedia  Britannica,  vol.  vi.  p.  226,  d. 


i88  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


Mo  Ti  comes  nearer  to  furnishing  us  a methodology 
than  any  other  ancient  Chinese  writer.  He  attempted 
to  supply  the  lack  of  a Chinese  logic  or  law  of  reason- 
ing by  formulating  three  tests  of  truth ; ( i ) Is  the  doc- 
trine in  accordance  with  the  spirit  of  the  universe? 
(2)  Is  it  in  accordance  with  the  teachings  of  the  an- 
cients? (3)  Is  it  helpful  to  the  individual  and  the 
nation,  that  is,  will  it  stand  the  test  of  experience? 
Each  of  these  three  tests  of  truth  has  real  value,  and 
the  third  is  the  scientific  test  of  truth,  though,  like  the 
modern  pragmatists,  he  drops  to  utilitarian  considera- 
tions. Mo  Ti  maintains  that  his  doctrine  of  love 
stands  all  three  of  these  tests.  Under  the  first  head 
he  argues,  in  Chapter  XVII,  that  nature  is  full  of  love; 
that  Heaven  gives  us  the  sun,  moon  and  stars,  rain 
and  warmth,  and  that  through  these  Heaven  gives  us 
flowers  for  beauty  and  grain  for  food.  Hence  Mo  Ti 
argues  that  Heaven  is  the  source  of  love,  and  our  duty 
on  earth  is  to  practice  universal  benevolence.  First, 
then,  love,  or  universal  benevolence,  is  in  accord  with 
the  spirit  of  the  universe.  Turning  to  the  second  proof 
of  his  philosophy  (Is  it  in  accord  with  the  teachings 
of  the  Sages?)  Mo  Ti  maintained  that  the  ancient 
kings  and  Sages  of  China  in  all  their  undertakings 
aimed  to  help  three  groups  of  beings,  namely,  God, 
spiritual  beings,  and  the  people.  Hence  he  argued  that 
we  should  follow  in  the  footsteps  of  the  Sages  and 
make  our  conduct  pleasing  to  Heaven,  reverential 
toward  the  spirits,  and  benevolent  toward  the  people. 
Turning  to  the  third  test  of  truth,  experience,  Mo  Ti 
appealed  throughout  to  utilitarian  considerations.  The 
single  cause  of  all  wars  and  evils  is  selfishness.  If  any 


LIFE  REFLECTED  TN  PITILOSOPHY  189 

nation  will  love  every  other  nation,  and  if  any  indi- 
vidual will  love  his  neighbors,  they  in  turn  will  love 
and  help  that  nation  and  that  individual  (Chapters 
XIV,  XV).  On  utilitarian  grounds.  Mo  Ti,  in  Chap- 
ter XXV,  strenuously  combats  the  custom  of  securing 
fine  coffins  for  the  dead  and  making  elaborate  and 
costly  funerals.  He  also  condemns  concubinage  on 
utilitarian  grounds,  music  on  the  same  ground;  and 
he  devotes  Chapters  XVIII  and  XIX  to  a condemna- 
tion of  war  for  a similar  reason.  Again,  in  Chapters 
XXXV,  XXXVI,  XXXII,  he  condemns  fatalism  as 
the  enemy  of  energetic  and  hopeful  action.  He  com- 
mends in  the  most  vigorous  fashion  the  strenuous  life 
as  contributing  to  the  advancement  of  the  race.  On 
the  same  utilitarian  ground  he  argues  for  the  existence 
of  a supreme  God,  of  intelligence,  reason  and  love,  and 
of  a Divine  Providence  ruling  the  affairs  of  men.  In- 
deed, his  argument  for  theism  anticipates  by  twenty- 
five  hundred  years  the  pragmatism  of  William  James. 
Mo  Ti  in  all  his  practical  reforms  dwelt  so  largely  upon 
utilitarian  considerations  that  Suzuki,  in  his  admirable 
summary,  calls  him  the  “Apostle  of  Utilitarianism.” 
We  prefer  to  designate  him  as  a utilitarian  altruist. 
Mo  Ti  is  not  a profound  thinker;  too  often  he  makes 
superficial  appeals  to  utility  instead  of  sounding  the 
depths  of  the  soul  or  of  appealing  to  God.  Dr.  Legge 
holds  that  Mo  Ti  had  in  mind  no  deeper  basis  for  his 
doctrine  of  universal  love  than  expediency,  and  that 
this  is  the  weak  point  in  his  philosophy.^®  It  is  true  that 
in  his  defense  of  the  law  of  love  IMo  Ti  has  no  concep- 


M Suzuki,  T.  D.:  pp.  93-100. 

* The  Chinese  Classics,  vol.  ii,  p.  119. 


1 


igo  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

tion  that  love  is  the  revealed  will  of  the  Creator  of  the 
universe,  nor  does  he  relate  love  to  other  virtues,  such 
as  justice.  At  these  points  he  falls  below  the  Christian 
doctrine  of  love,  though  we  marvel  that  he  came  so 
near  to  apprehending  that  doctrine.  He  comes  the 
nearest  of  any  ancient  philosopher  to  the  discovery  of 
the  scientific  test  of  truth : and  he  devoted  all  his  ener- 
gies to  promoting  that  doctrine  of  love  which  later  was 
revealed  and  embodied  by  Jesus  Christ.  Moreover,  he 
impresses  us  as  the  most  open-minded  and  progressive 
philosopher  China  has  produced.  We  rank  Confucius, 
Mencius  and  Mo  Ti  as  China’s  three  great  philoso- 
phers. They  lack  or  do  not  reveal  the  speculative 
genius  of  the  Greeks;  and  they  left  on  record  far 
fewer  philosophical  writings  than  their  western  con- 
freres. But  as  founders  of  civilization,  as  leaders  of 
their  people,  as  molders  of  the  future,  Confucius,  Mo 
Ti,  and  Mencius  are  worthy  to  be  compared  with 
Plato,  Aristotle,  and  Socrates. 

IV.  Chuang  Tzu’^® — Exponent  of  Lao  Tzu — 
B.  C.  400-300 

Master  Chuang  lived  about  B.  C.  350.  He  was  the 
most  brilliant  expounder  of  Lao  Tzu,  just  as  Mo  Ti 
showed  the  greatest  insight  into  Lao  Tzu’s  doctrines. 
Like  Mo  Ti,  Master  Chuang  was  a small  official,  and, 
like  Mo  Ti,  he  lived  in  Shantung.  His  wisdom,  and 
especially  his  brilliant  exposition  of  Lao  Tzu’s  philoso- 
phy, attracted  the  attention  of  Prince  Ch’u,  who  sent 

“Alexander  Wylie,  in  Notes  on  Chinese  Literature,  p.  218,  says  this  man's 
name  was  Chwang  Chow,  and  that  his  literary  work  in  ten  books  was  originally 
circulated  with  the  title  Chwanz  Tsze,  and  that  the  present  form  of  his  name 
originated  from  the  title  of  his  book. 


LIFE  REFLECTED  IN  PHILOSOPHY  191 

a large  delegation  to  him,  offering  him  the  place  of 
premier.  Chuang  was  out  fishing,  and  without  turn- 
ing his  head  replied  to  the  delegation:  “The  Prince 

has  a sacred  tortoise  in  a chest  in  the  ancestral  temple 
which  has  been  dead  for  more  than  three  thousand 
years,  but  whose  shell  is  still  greatly  reverenced. 
Would  the  tortoise  rather  be  dead  and  have  its  shell 
venerated,  or  be  alive  and  wagging  its  tail  in  the 
mud?”  The  delegation  replied,  “It  would  rather  be 
alive  and  wagging  its  tail  in  the  mud.”  “Begone,” 
said  Chuang,  “I  too  prefer  to  live.”  Chuang  raised  a 
cry  against  the  multiplication  of  laws,  against  material 
progress,  against  the  growth  of  luxury,  somewhat 
after  the  fashion  of  Ruskin;  but  all  in  vain.  He  ex- 
presses the  frailty  and  the  utter  dependence  of  man  in 
the  following  sentences : “The  rain  said  to  the  shadow, 
‘Why  have  you  no  fixity  of  purpose,  but  are  constantly 
moving  from  one  spot  to  another?’  The  shadow  re- 
plied, ‘Because  I am  dependent  upon  another,  and  that 
other  Form  on  which  I depend  is  dependent  in  its 
turn.’  ” So  Master  Chuang  held,  there  is  One  from 
whom  the  shadow  derived  “the  power  of  motion, 
though  I have  never  seen  his  Form;  verily,  there  is 
One  Supreme  Being  who  holds  all  together.” 

Part  of  Chuang  Tzu’s  writings  are  full  of  sadness 
and  remind  one  of  the  author  of  Ecclesiastes.  Again, 
however,  he  catches  glimpses  of  the  Divine  Provi- 
dence, and  his  words  reveal  something  of  the  peace  of 
the  twenty-third  psalm.  “I  conform  to  the  teachings 
of  Him  who  has  the  guidance  of  the  heart.  All  is  clear 
to  the  heart  that  is  thus  taught,  and  even  the  simplest 


» Balfour,  F.  H.:  Chuang  Tsze,  Introduction,  pp.  xxiv,  xxv. 


iq2  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

and  the  most  ignorant  are  not  left  without  instruc- 
tion.” Further  study,  however,  leads  to  the  convic- 
tion that  Chuang  has  relied  upon  spirits  or  angels  as 
guides  for  souls  instead  of  upon  a single  mind  direct- 
ing all  hearts  and  all  the  forces  of  the  universe.  After 
Chuang  Tzu’s  time,  this  doctrine  of  spirits  degenerated 
into  witchcraft  and  magic,  and  Taoist  priests  by  seek- 
ing the  elixir  of  life,  and  especially  by  their  assumed 
power  to  exorcise  evil  spirits,  became  impostors  and 
made  the  people,  and  later  themselves,  a prey  to  their 
superstitions.  In  opposition  to  Mo  Ti,  Master  Chuang 
was  a fatalist.  “If  she  [Nature]  begat  me  to  die 
quickly  and  I demur,  I am  an  undutiful  son ; she  can 
do  me  no  wrong.”  The  universe,  then,  is  “the  melting 
pot  and  God  is  the  molder.  I shall  go  whithersoever 
I am  sent,  to  awake  unconscious  of  the  past  as  a man 
awakes  from  a dreamless  sleep.”  Master  Chuang’s 
soliloquy  on  a skull  reminds  one  of  Hamlet’s  famous 
soliloquy,  and  shows  that  Shakespeare’s  device  had 
been  anticipated  by  another  literary  artist  by  more 
than  two  thousand  years.  Master  Chuang  holds  that 
the  true  Sage  ignores  man,  ignores  matter,  ignores  a 
beginning,  moves  in  harmony  with  his  generation  and 
suffers  not.  He  takes  things  as  they  come  and  thus 
is  not  overwhelmed.  This  is  the  wisdom  of  Tao. 
There  is  too  much  fatalism  in  this  teaching;  too  much 
yielding  to  that  which  the  Sage  calls  “natural  inclina- 
tion” for  it  to  develop  any  heroic  life.  Nevertheless, 
on  the  sentimental  side  his  virtues  shine  conspicuously. 
As  Chuang  lay  dying  his  friends  comforted  him  by  the 
assurance  of  a splendid  funeral.  He  replied,  “With 
heaven  and  earth  for  my  coffin,  with  the  sun,  moon  and 


LIFE  REFLECTED  IN  PHILOSOPHY  193 

stars  for  my  regalia,  and  with  all  creation  to  escort 
me  to  the  tomb,  are  not  my  funeral  paraphernalia 
wholly  sufficient?”  Professor  Giles  calls  him  “the 
most  original  of  China’s  philosophical  writers.” 
Werner  regards  him  as  “advancing  Taoism  with  so- 
phisticated reasoning  on  ethics  and  social  reformation. 
In  him  is  a man  whose  style  is  equal  to  Plato’s,  but 
who  is  neither  strong  nor  deep.”  He  is  the  most 
suggestive  philosophical  writer  of  China;  and  his  style 
in  its  power  to  awaken  interest  in  philosophical  specu- 
lation is  unequaled  in  Chinese  and  unexcelled  even  by 
Plato. 

On  the  Buddhistic  literature  Wylie  requires  the 
same  number  of  pages  for  its  description  as  for  the 
Taoist  literature;  and  it  is  even  more  abundant  and  of 
a higher  type  of  philosophical  speculation  than  is  Tao- 
ism. Without  space  to  touch  this  immense  mass  of 
philosophical  speculations  we  must  add  that,  in  our 
judgment,  Buddhism,  originally  coming  from  India — 
the  land  of  speculation — in  China  has  been  more  open 
to  the  influence  of  religious  speculation  and  of  life  than 
has  Confucianism  or  Taoism.  We  shall  refer  to  this 
vast  mass  of  Buddhistic  literature  in  Chapter  XII. 
Certainly  we  have  presented  sufficient  data  to  reveal 
the  rich  philosophical  literature  of  the  Chinese,  and  to 
give  at  least  some  conception  of  the  philosophical  sig- 
nificance of  Taoism  and  Buddhism. 

Books  for  Reference 

Alexander,  G.  G. : Laotze,  A Great  Thinker.  Baldwin,  James 
Mark:  Dictionary  of  Philosophy  and  Psychology  (3  Vols.). 


® Encyclopaedia  Britannica,  vol.  vi,  p.  226. 

“ Wemer,  E.  T.  C.:  Descriptive  Sociology  of  the  Chinese,  Table  II,  col.  23. 


194  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

Borel,  Henri:  Wu  Wei.  Cams,  Paul:  Chinese  Philosophy; 
Chinese  Thought.  Douglas,  Robert:  Confuciusism  and  Taoism. 
Edkins,  J.  C. : Religion  in  China.  Faber,  Ernst:  Systematic 
Digest  of  the  Doctrines  of  Confucius;  The  Mind  of  Mencius. 
Giles,  Lionel:  The  Sayings  of  Laotze;  The  Musings  of  a 
Chinese  Mystic — Selections  from  the  Philosophy  of  Chuang 
Tzu.  Groot,  J.  J.  M.,  de:  The  Religious  System  of  China  (6 
Vols.)  ; Religion  in  China;  The  Religion  of  the  Chinese.  Ku 
Hung  Ming:  The  Discourses  and  Sayings  of  Confucius.  La- 
couperie,  Terrien  de:  Booklet  on  the  I Ching.  Legge,  James: 
The  Chinese  Classics  (6  Vols.)  ; Life  and  Teachings  of  Con- 
fucius. Mayers,  W.  F. : Chinese  Readers’  Manual.  Meadows, 
T.  T. : The  Chinese  and  Their  Rebellions,  Chapter  XVIII. 
Old,  W.  G. : Laotze — The  Simple  Way.  Richard,  Timothy : 
The  New  Testament  of  Higher  Buddhism;  A Mission  to 
Heaven.  Soothill,  W.  E. : Analects  of  Confucius — Translation 
and  Notes;  The  Three  Religions  of  China.  Suzuki,  D.  T. : A 
Brief  History  of  Chinese  Philosophy.  Wylie,  Alexander: 
Notes  on  Chinese  Literature. 


CHAPTER  VIII 


CONFUCIUS:  MORAL  PHILOSOPHY 

“As  a man  thinketh ; so  is  he.”  All  genuine  philoso- 
phy eventuates  in  conduct.  Confucius  is  not  to  be  ex- 
cluded from  the  Porch  because  he  devoted  his  life  to 
the  rectification  of  human  conduct  rather  than  to 
vague  speculations  as  to  the  nature  of  the  world  and 
man.  Rather  the  fact  that  he  is  a moral  philosopher 
places  him  with  Socrates  and  Epictetus,  with  Marcus 
Aurelius  and  Moses,  among  the  greatest  teachers  of 
mankind. 

Confucius — Master  K’ung — lived  B.  C.  551-478. 
The  population  of  China  was  then  ten  to  fifteen  mil- 
lions. In  many  of  the  arts  and  in  civilization,  and 
especially  in  literature,  the  Chinese  were  in  advance 
of  Europe  in  the  Middle  Ages.  Every  country  or 
kingdom  had  its  historiographer,  its  musicians,  its 
code  of  law,  its  treatises  on  agriculture  and  on  con- 
duct. Yet,  on  the  whole,  it  was  a period  of  dying 
civilization  with  widespread  degeneracy  and  suffer- 
ing. Slavery  existed,  polygamy  and  concubinage  were 
common,  there  was  an  absence  of  any  clear  belief  in  a 
holy  and  righteous  God,  and  religion  consisted  largely 
of  superstitious  practices.  The  Chow  dynasty  lasted 
from  B.  C.  1122  to  255.  Already  the  dynasty  had 
passed  its  zenith  and  its  rulers  were  yielding  to  those 
vices  which  demoralized  the  nation  and  which  in  the 
end  led  to  its  downfall.  China  had  not  yet  reached 
true  national  existence.  Instead  of  a great  nation 

195 


196  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

there  was  a congeries  of  semi-independent,  feudal 
states  warring  with  each  other.  A sign  of  the  times 
was  the  appearance  in  the  sixth  century  B.  C.  of  Sun 
Wu’s  Art  of  War — a book  first  enunciating  some  of 
the  principles  still  recognized  by  military  writers. 
Feudal  government,  in  the  nature  of  the  case,  falls 
into  disorder  unless  the  central  sovereign  is  a strong 
character  commanding  ability  and  energy.  Preced- 
ing Confucius,  subordinate  princes  arose  in  various 
provinces  stronger  than  the  emperor,  until  at  last  the 
empire  was  tottering  to  its  fall.  It  was  in  such  a 
period  that  Confucius  was  born. 

Confucius’s  genealogy  is  traced  by  admiring  biog- 
raphers through  kings  of  the  Shang  dynasty  to  the 
mythological  emperor,  Hwang-ti,  B.  C.  2700.  Inas- 
much as  the  genealogy  of  his  descendants  has  been 
preserved  down  to  the  present  day,  the  family  now 
counts  seventy-six  generations,  probably  the  longest 
known  genealogy  in  human  history,  even  if  we  do  not 
trace  it  back  beyond  Confucius.  While  his  genealogy 
traced  back  to  Hwang-ti  is  doubtless  mythical,  never- 
theless Confucius  came  of  good  stock.  His  father, 
K’ung  Shu  Liang-ho,^  was  a small  official  noted  for 
his  feats  of  physical  strength,  his  daring,  and  his  up- 
right character.  He  had  nine  daughters  and  one  son 
before  the  birth  of  Confucius.  But  as  this  son  was  a 
cripple  and  could  not  become  an  official,  the  father 
when  beyond  seventy  years  of  age  took  Cheng  Tsai, 
the  youngest  daughter  of  the  head  of  a neighboring 
clan,  as  a concubine,  and  she  bore  him  his  illustrious 
son.  Confucius,  like  Goethe,  was  thus  the  son  of  an 


Encyclopaedia  Britannica,  vol.  vi,  p.  908,  b. 


CONFUCIUS:  MORAL  PHILOSOPHY  197 


old  man  and  a young  mother.  When  Confucius  was 
only  three  years  old  the  father  died,  leaving  the  family 
poor.  Later,  when  Confucius  became  eminent  and  was 
congratulated  upon  his  practical  knowledge  of  many 
arts,  he  explained  that*  this  was  due  to  his  early  pov- 
erty which  compelled  him  to  do  many  kinds  of  work. 
Mencius  says:  “Wdien  Heaven  is  about  to  confer  a 
great  office  upon  a man,  it  always  first  exercises  his 
mind  and  soul  with  suffering  and  his  sinews  and  bones 
with  toil.  It  exposes  his  body  to  hunger  and  exposes 
him  to  extreme  poverty,  and  baffles  all  his  undertak- 
ings. By  these  means  it  stimulates  his  mind,  hardens 
his  nature,  and  enables  him  to  do  acts  otherwise  im- 
possible to  him.” 

As  a boy  Confucius  was  grave,  self-contained,  and 
fond  of  playing  at  ceremonies.  He  writes  later  of 
himself  that  at  fifteen  his  mind  was  set  on  learning; 
at  nineteen  he  was  married,  and  a year  later  his  wife 
bore  him  a son,  and  later  still  two  daughters.  On  his 
marriage  he  was  employed  by  the  chief  of  the  Ki  clan, 
first  as  the  keeper  of  his  stores,  and  later  as  superin- 
tendent of  his  parks  and  herds.  IMencius  explains 
that  Confucius  accepted  these  two  offices,  considered 
humble  for  the  son  of  an  official,. .because  of  his  pov- 
erty, and  that  he  proved  efficient  in  them  and  showed 
no  effort  to  become  rich,  though  corruption  was  then 
common.  At  twenty-two  Confucius  became  a school 
teacher,  and  this  continued  to  be  his  main  employment 
throughout  life.  Gradually  there  gathered  around 
him,  not  simply  boys  to  be  taught  the  Chinese  char- 
acters, but  young  men  apparently  of  some  social  and 
political  standing  who  wished  to  learn  the  principles 


198  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

of  government.  Confucius  did  not  hold  himself  re- 
sponsible for  any  fixed  hours  of  instruction,  or  even 
for  remaining  in  any  fixed  abode,  but  traveled  from 
place  to  place  accompanied  by  such  of  his  more  de- 
voted pupils  as  were  able  to  accompany  him  at  their 
own  expense.  He  accepted  readily  the  large  fees 
which  the  wealthier  young  men  brought  him,  but  re- 
jected no  young  man  of  earnestness  and  ability  because 
he  brought  only  small  fees.  He  followed  two  methods 
of  selection.  He  said,  “When  I have  presented  one 
corner  of  the  subject  and  the  pupil  cannot  make  out  the 
other  three,  I do  not  repeat  the  lesson.”  In  the  next 
place,  he  never  lowered  his  moral  principles  for  the 
sake  of  his  rich  pupils ; and  probably  his  moral  earnest- 
ness and  the  iteration  of  moral  principles  prevented 
any  long  continuance  of  many  of  them  as  disciples. 
It  is  said  that  during  his  long  life  he  was  patronized 
by  some  three  thousand  pupils,  of  whom  seventy-two, 
or  some  reports  say  seventy-six,  became  lifelong  dis- 
ciples. Of  this  group  part  entered  public  life  to  put 
into  practice  his  principles,  while  a small  number  of 
them  traveled  with  the  master,  cared  for  him,  con- 
versed with  him,  and  served  as  his  companions  during 
his  life,  and  helped  preserve  his  teachings.  His  method 
of  teaching  was  evidently  by  dialogue,  like  the  method 
of  Socrates  and  the  Master. 

Instead  of  devoting  all  of  his  time  to  his  pupils,  Con- 
fucius was  two  or  three  times  an  administrator  for 
short  periods,  and  continued  throughout  life  a stu- 
dent of  music,  and  of  history,  and  took  time  to  write 
at  least  one  comparatively  brief  historical  book — The 
Spring  and  Autumn  Annals,  When  Confucius  was 


CONFUCIUS:  MORAL  PHILOSOPHY  199 


twenty-four  his  mother  died,  though  still  a com- 
paratively young  woman,  and  in  anticipation  of  travel 
and  of  long  absence  from  home  he  placed  her  body 
in  the  grave  of  his  father  and  raised  a mound  over  the 
tomb  that  he  might  recognize  the  spot  whenever  he  re- 
turned. Apparently  at  that  time  it  was  customary  to 
leave  most  graves  on  a level  with  the  ground  and  pos- 
sibly to  cultivate  the  soil  over  them. 

Confucius  seemed  to  care  little  for  his  wife.  Ac- 
cording to  some  reports,  he  divorced  her ; and  his  son 
and  grandson  divorced  their  wives — possibly  follow- 
ing the  example  of  their  illustrious  sire.  We  have  no 
account  of  his  wife,  which  would  not  be  strange,  until 
her  death  is  mentioned,  and  Confucius  rebukes  his  son 
for  mourning  for  her.  This  shows  that  the  mother  at 
least  retained  her  son’s  affection  to  the  last.  Dr. 
Legge  thinks  the  reports  of  the  divorce  are  not  suffi- 
ciently attested.  We  have  no  report  of  Confucius  ever 
marrying  a second  wife  or  taking  a concubine  or  being 
guilty  of  social  immorality. 

Being  furnished  with  funds  by  the  Marquis  of  Lu, 
Confucius  made  a visit  of  some  duration  to  the  capital 
of  his  native  state.  He  spent  some  part  of  his  time  in 
the  study  and  hearing  of  music,  which  he  found  in  its 
highest  style  at  the  court;  but  he  devoted  the  larger 
portion  of  it  to  study  in  the  royal  library.  It  was  at 
this  time,  according  to  Ssu-ma  Ch’ien,  the  Herodotus 
of  China,  that  he  had  one  or  more  interviews  with  Lao 
Tzu.  Lao  Tzu  is  reported  to  have  rebuked  Con- 
fucius for  pride  of  heart  and  for  too  much  attention 
to  forms  and  ceremonies  instead  of  grasping  realities. 
But  while  Lao  Tzu  greatly  impressed  Confucius  there 


200  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


is  nothing  in  the  latter’s  subsequent  life,  unless  it  be 
his  devotion  to  the  I Ching,  to  show  that  Lao  Tzu 
made  any  permanent  contribution  to  his  thinking. 
Soon  after  returning  home  the  marquis  at  whose  ex- 
pense Confucius  had  visited  the  capital  was  driven 
from  the  kingdom,  Confucius,  out  of  friendship  for 
his  patron  but  more  especially  to  show  reverence  for 
constituted  authority,  also  abandoned  the  state  of  Lu, 
saying  that  he  would  not  live  in  a state  whose  citizens 
had  driven  away  the  rightful  sovereign.  He  went  to 
the  neighboring  state  of  Wei,  apparently  to  secure  em- 
ployment, as  well  as  to  show  his  disapproval  of  the 
rebellion  in  Lu.  But  owing  to  the  embarrassments  in 
Wei  over  his  reception  and  the  unwillingness  of  the 
ruler  to  employ  him,  he  returned  to  Lu  at  the  age  of 
thirty-seven  and  spent  the  next  fifteen  years  as  a 
teacher.  During  this  period  there  were  notable  acces- 
sions of  disciples  and  his  reputation  spread  throughout 
the  nation. 

At  last,  at  fifty-two,  Confucius  was  called  to  the 
magistracy  of  a small  city,  and  ruled  so  well  that 
through  his  example  a marvelous  change  took  place  in 
the  morals  and  manners  of  the  people.  Confucius  was 
then  called  to  become  the  minister  of  crime,  and  two 
of  his  leading  disciples  were  also  called  to  important 
posts  in  the  state.  He  now  had  the  first  opportunity 
of  putting  his  principles  into  practice.  He  punished 
one  of  the  chief  officials  of  the  state,  repressed  the 
barons  who  were  disloyal  to  the  king  and  negligent  in 
obedience,  rewarded  honesty  and  punished  dissolute- 
ness, so  that  the  little  kingdom  was  quite  transformed, 
and  Confucius  became  the  idol  of  the  people,  and  his 


CONFUCIUS:  MORAL  PHILOSOPHY  201 

name  flew  in  songs  throughout  the  land.  Unfortu- 
nately, the  marquis  or  ruler  of  Tsi  feared  that  the 
state  of  Lu  would  rise  to  the  headship  of  the  entire 
nation.  So  he  sent  to  the  Marquis  of  Lu  a present  of 
fine  horses  and  a group  of  beautiful  singing  and  danc- 
ing girls.  The  Marquis  of  1ai  accepted  the  present 
eagerly  and  soon  became  infatuated  with  his  pleasures. 
Confucius,  finding  the  very  head  of  the  state  indulging 
the  vices  which  he  was  punishing  in  others,  was 
obliged  to  resign  in  order  to  preserve  his  self-respect. 
He  left  the  capital  very  reluctantly,  hoping  that  the 
ruler  would  come  to  himself  and  recall  him  to  his  post. 
But  the  ruler  remained  absorbed  in  his  pleasures,  and 
at  fifty-six  Confucius  started  as  a wanderer  from  state 
to  state,  seeking  employment  and  finding  none.  We 
wonder  at  his  failure,  and  yet  his  terms  were  hard. 
He  was  willing  that  the  ruler  of  the  state  should  re- 
main nominally  sovereign,  with  the  supreme  power  of 
dismis’sing  him  at  any  time.  But  Confucius  insisted 
that,  as  prime  minister,  the  reins  of  government  must 
be  placed  in  his  hands.  Even  modern  kings  have  been 
slow  in  learning  this  lesson,  and  it  is  not  strange  that 
Oriental  sovereigns  were  loath  to  surrender  their  rule 
to  a prime  minister  who  wanted  the  kingdom  ruled  ac- 
cording to  puritanical  ideals.  Confucius  said,  “If  any 
ruler  would  submit  to  me  [as  dictator  or  give  me  full 
authority]  for  twelve  months,  I could  accomplish  con- 
siderable ; and  in  three  years  I could  obtain  the  realiza- 
tion of  my  hopes.” 

Confucius  spent  the  next  nine  years  in  seeking  office 
and  finding  none.  But  before  condemning  him  as  an 
office-seeker  we  must  remember  that  he  knew  the  times 


202  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


were  out  of  joint,  that  China  was  drifting  to  destruc- 
tion, that  he  feared  indeed  the  dissolution  of  civiliza- 
tion, that  he  believed  himself  commissioned  of  Heaven 
to  lead  the  people  back  to  the  paths  of  righteousness 
and  safety.  Moreover,  he  did  not  seek  office  either  for 
money  or  fame.  Had  money  been  his  aim,  he  would 
have  accepted  the  support  which  the  rulers  of  several 
states  freely  offered  him.  But  as  the  princes  tendering 
him  gifts  did  not  reform  their  lives,  Confucius  refused 
to  tarry  in  their  states,  but  passed  on  as  a wanderer  to 
other  states.  Journeying  at  times  in  want  and  at  times 
in  actual  danger,  he  maintained  his  trust  in  his  call  and 
in  himself,  though  the  conviction  that  he  would  never 
find  an  opportunity  to  put  his  principles  into  practice 
began  to  dawn  upon  him.  One  day,  having  lost  the 
road,  one  of  his  chief  disciples  went  to  an  old  man  to 
inquire  the  way.  The  old  man  said:  “Disorder 

spreads  over  the  kingdom  like  a swelling  flood ; and  no 
one  is  able  to  repress  it.  Rather  than  follow  a master 
who  withdraws  from  one  ruler  after  another  because 
they  will  not  take  his  advice,  would  you  not  better 
follow  those  who  withdraw  from  the  world  alto- 
gether?” Tze-lu  returned  and  told  his  master  the 
farmer’s  advice.  Confucius  replied : “It  is  impossible 
to  withdraw  from  the  world  and  associate  with  birds 
and  beasts  which  have  no  affinity  with  us.  With 
whom  should  I associate  but  with  suffering  man?” 

At  sixty-nine,  after  some  thirteen  years  of  wander- 
ing and  peripatetic  teaching,  Confucius  returned  to  the 
state  of  Lu.  The  ruler  who  had  been  carried  away  by 
the  singing  girls  was  dead,  and  one  of  the  disciples  of 
Confucius  had  become  a successful  general  under  the 


CONFUCIUS:  MORAL  PHILOSOPHY  203 

young  ruler.  The  general  sought  to  have  Confucius 
restored  to  power.  But  Confucius,  seeing  that  the 
movement  was  not  spontaneous,  declined  to  consider 
the  matter,  and  spent  his  remaining  years  with  his  dis- 
ciples in  literary  labor.  The  next  year  his  son,  who 
had  reached  the  age  of  fifty,  died,  leaving  descendants 
through  whom  the  family  has  continued  to  the  present 
day:  two  or  three  of  them  are  prominent  Christian 
workers  in  China — H.  H.  K’ung,  a professor  in  the 
Oberlin  School  at  Taiyuenfu,  in  the  province  of  Shansi, 
and  Dr.  Ida  Kahn  (or  K’ung),  a very  able  physician 
of  Nanchang,  in  the  province  of  Kiangsi.  It  was  a 
grandson  of  Confucius,  K’ung  Ch’i,  who  wrote  the 
famous  book — The  Doctrine  of  the  IMean,  or,  as  Wylie 
translates  it.  The  Doctrine  of  the  Invariable  Medium, 
which  ranks  as  one  of  the  Nine  Classics.  Confucius 
bore  the  death  of  his  son  with  equanimity.  But  the 
next  year  his  favorite  disciple.  Yen  Huei,  died;  and 
Confucius  wept  over  his  loss  beyond  what  seemed  to 
his  disciples  the  bounds  of  propriety.  Three  years 
later,  when  Confucius  was  seventy-four,  his  next  best- 
loved disciple  died,  and  Confucius  felt  that  his  own 
end  was  drawing  near.  One  morning  he  was  seen 
walking  back  and  forth  in  front  of  his  door  dragging 
his  staff  in  his  hands  behind  his  back,  and  crooning 
the  words: 

“The  great  mountain  must  crumble; 

The  strong  beam  must  break : 

The  wise  man  must  wither  away  like  a plant.” 

Disciples  hastened  to  him  and  he  said : “No  intelligent 
ruler  arises  to  take  me  as  his  master.  My  time  has 
come  to  die.”  He  took  to  his  bed  and  died  seven  days 


204  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

later.  What  had  become  of  his  daughters  we  do  not 
know;  and  we  do  not  know  that  any  grandchildren 
were  near  him  at  his  death.  His  disciples  ministered 
to  his  needs.  He  uttered  no  prayer,  he  betrayed  no 
apprehension,  but  died  apparently  in  dejection  under 
the  conviction  that  his  life  had  been  a failure.  But  the 
death  of  the  man  whose  teachings  had  emphasized 
justice  and  responsibility  upon  the  part  of  rulers,  rev- 
erence and  obedience  upon  the  part  of  subjects;  the 
death  of  the  man  who  had  constantly  sought  for  fifty 
years  to  put  his  principles  into  practice,  not  through 
love  of  money  or  of  honor,  but  for  the  sake  of  the  pub- 
lic welfare ; the  death  of  the  man  who  had  maintained 
that  moral  influence  is  the  only  source  of  lasting  au- 
thority upon  the  part  of  a sovereign  and  whose  own 
example  had  transformed  the  state  he  was  called  to 
rule;  and  especially  the  death  of  the  man  whose  aus- 
tere but  genuine  virtues  had  won  the  admiration  and 
love  of  his  disciples  and  led  noble  men  to  devote  their 
lives  to  him,  produced  an  impression  upon  the  nation ; 
and  the  fame  of  Confucius  began  to  rise  almost  from 
the  day  of  his  burial. 

The  philosophy  of  China  is  found  chiefly  in  her 
Nine  Classics.  Of  these,  Confucius  corrected  and 
edited  three  and  wrote  the  fourth,  while  the  fifth — the 
Analects,  or  Dialogues  of  Confucius,  written  by  dis- 
ciples— furnishes  the  best  embodiment  of  his  teach- 
ings. In  addition  to  these  books,  the  next  three  simply 
set  forth  the  doctrines  of  the  master  by  his  disciples. 

So  far  as  he  speaks  clearly,  Confucius  accepted  a 
dualistic  explanation  of  the  origin  of  the  universe  and 
accounted  for  heaven,  earth,  and  man  as  springing 


CONFUCIUS:  MORAL  PHILOSOPHY  205 

from  preexisting  male  and  female  principles,  Yang 
and  Yin,  though  apparently  he  had  a conviction  that 
some  eternal  principle  or  person  exists  back  of  these 
preexisting  dual  principles.  In  the  Shu  Ching  he 
compiled  the  history  of  the  preceding  centuries  in  one 
hundred  chapters,  of  which  we  now  have  fifty-eight; 
and  of  these  fifty-eight  probably  twenty-three  date 
from  Confucius.  The  reverence  of  Confucius  for  the 
past  thus  saved  to  posterity  the  early  records  of  the 
Chinese  nation.  He  also  compiled  the  Shih  Ching,  or 
Book  of  Poetry,  consisting  of  three  hundred  and  eleven 
h)Tims,  of  which  we  still  possess  three  hundred  and 
five.  Here  again  he  exercised  his  judgment  in  select- 
ing hymns  which  he  deemed  worthy  of  preservation. 
He  himself  said  of  the  collection  that  the  faithful  study 
of  it  would  produce  a mind  without  a single  depraving 
thought;  and,  indeed,  there  is  not  a line  in  the  three 
hundred  and  five  hymns  which  contains  an  impure  or 
improper  sentiment.  The  Li  Chi,  or  Book  of  Rites, 
is  said  to  date  in  its  original  composition  from  the 
Chow  dynasty,  which  was  founded  B.  C.  1122.  Con- 
fucius edited  this  book  and  probably  took  more  in- 
terest in  it  than  in  any  other  of  the  books  compiled  by 
him,  because  he  attached  very  large  importance  to 
forms  and  ceremonies.  The  Chinese  people  also  have 
been  more  interested  in  the  Li  Chi  than  in  probably 
any  other  book  which  Confucius  transmitted  to  them ; 
and  the  book  has  been  so  changed  by  reediting  that 
possibly  not  a single  line  of  it  in  its  present  form  was 
written  by  Confucius.  On  the  other  hand,  we  know 
from  the  Analects  that  Confucius  strenuously  incul- 
cated the  observance  of  forms  and  ceremonies.  West- 


2o6  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


ern  ethical  writers  fail  to  understand  this  emphasis 
upon  outward  conduct.  But  so  far  as  we  can  learn 
from  the  prophet’s  own  teachings,  his  theory  at  this 
point  rested  upon  two  convictions.  First,  that  the 
inner  life  could  be  repressed  and  controlled  and  re- 
molded through  outward  conduct.  While  there  is 
danger  of  substituting  good  manners  for  inner  affec- 
tion or  loyalty,  nevertheless.  Western  nations,  and  es- 
pecially Americans,  have  a lesson  to  learn  from  the 
Chinese  in  regard  to  the  inculcation  of  reverence  and 
correctness  and  propriety  in  the  speech  and  acts  of 
children ; and  the  great  influence  which  such  outward 
propriety,  imposed  upon  children  for  years,  will 
eventually  have  upon  their  lives  and  characters.  Sec- 
ond, Confucius  insisted  upon  sincerity  as  one  of  the 
supreme  virtues  of  mankind ; and  by  sincerity  he  meant 
perfect  correspondence  between  the  outward  word  or 
act  and  the  inward  impulse.  “Let  your  yea  be  yea, 
and  your  nay,  nay:  for  whatsoever  is  more  than  this 
cometh  of  evil.”  But  inasmuch  as  we  cannot  see  into 
the  hearts  of  men  and  know  their  inmost  feelings, 
Confucius  laid  supreme  stress  upon  manners  and  con- 
duct as  the  proper  expression  of  the  inner  state;  and 
third,  Confucius  insisted  upon  the  outward  conduct  of 
all  in  authority  as  of  supreme  importance ; for  only  by 
example  can  rulers  exert  moral  influence  over  their 
subjects;  and  moral  influence  is  the  only  lasting  influ- 
ence in  government. 

The  favorite  disciple  of  Confucius,  Yen  Hui,  asked 
the  secret  of  self-control.  Confucius  replied,  “Over- 
come egotism  and  return  to  propriety  [or  li].”  When 
pressed  for  details  the  master  added,  “Do  not  say  any- 


CONFUCIUS:  jMORAL  PHILOSOPHY  207 

thing  improper;  do  not  listen  to  anything  improper; 
do  not  speak  of  anything  improper;  do  not  move 
toward  anything  improper,”^  “and  be  chary  of 
speech.”^  Again  Confucius  said,  “A  man  of  noble 
mind  seeks  to  perfect  the  good  in  others  and  not  their 
evil.”^  It  was  the  difficulty  of  carrying  out  these  lofty 
teachings  which  led  Confucius  to  prescribe  slowness 
of  movement  and  of  speech  in  order  that  the  spirit 
might  have  time  for  meditation  and  for  forming  reso- 
lutions instead  of  being  called  to  impulsive  action. 
Confucius  finally  sums  up  his  whole  teaching  in  regard 
to  manners  in  the  Golden  Rule  stated  negatively:  “Do 
not  do  to  others  what  you  would  not  have  them  do  to 
you.” 

The  Bible  throughout,  and  especially  in  the  first 
chapters  of  the  Gospel  according  to  John  and  in  the 
Epistle  to  the  Romans,  makes  clear  a universal  judg- 
ment of  men  by  God  on  the  ground  that  God  has  re- 
vealed to  each  some  measure  of  light  and  of  law.  The 
law  of  God  involves  for  each  man  a cross — denial  of 
self  and  the  acceptance  of  the  duty  which  God  imposes 
upon  each  through  his  conscience.  That  Confucius 
faced  this  light  and  accepted  his  cross  is  clear  from 
the  following  sentences  which  he  uttered : “If  on ' 
self-examination  I find  that  I am  not  upright,  shall  I 
not  be  in  fear  even  of  the  beggar  ? If  I examine  my- 
self and  find  I am  upright,  I will  go  forward  against 
thousands  and  tens  of  thousands.”  So  the  greatest 
disciple  of  Confucius,  IMencius,  once  said : “I  love  life 
and  I love  righteousness.  But  if  I must  decide  be- 


•Soothill,  W.  E.:  The  Analects  of  Confucius,  xii,  i. 

’ Ibid.,  xiii,  i.  * Ibid.,  xii,  l6. 


2o8  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


tween  the  two,  I choose  righteousness.”  Surely,  these 
confessions  are  worthy  to  stand  alongside  of  the  say- 
ings of  Marcus  Aurelius  and  Epictetus,  of  Moses  and 
Isaiah  and  Jeremiah,  each  of  whom,  perhaps  unwit- 
tingly but  no  less  really,  accepted  his  cross  and  fol- 
lowed the  light  God  gave  him.  This  is  the  cardinal 
law  of  that  religion  to  which  Dr.  Johnson  once  said 
“every  good  man  belongs.”  The  one  test  at  the  final 
judgment,  whether  men  have  heard  of  Christ  or  not, 
will  be  their  acceptance  or  rejection  of  the  cross  which 
the  unseen  Christ  holds  before  every  man.  Surely, 
Confucius  heard  God  speak  through  his  conscience, 
and  obeyed. 

Again,  in  the  acceptance  or  rejection  of  this  cross, 
most  souls  come  to  a crisis.  This  crisis  is  one  of  the 
experiences  not  simply  of  Christianity  but  of  universal 
religion.  Sakymuni  has  his  hour  of  absolute  sur- 
render to  his  call,  a surrender  as  clear  and  marked  as 
was  Augustine’s  when  he  was  praying  in  the  garden 
and  heard  sounding  in  his  ears  as  if  God  himself  were 
speaking,  “Not  in  reveling  and  in  drunkenness,  not  in 
chambering  and  wantonness;  . . . but  put  ye  on  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  make  not  provision  for  the  flesh 
to  fulfill  the  lusts  thereof.”  Mohammed  had  his  day 
of  seclusion  from  which  he  came  forth  changed  in 
every  fiber  of  his  being,  though  later  he  lapsed  in  part. 
So  Confucius  appears  to  have  had  his  day  of  decision 
when  he  writes,  “At  thirty  I took  my  stand.” 

After  one  comes  to  his  cross  and  accepts  it,  there 
comes  a freedom  such  as  one  never  knows  so  long  as 
he  walks  in  the  path  of  self-will.  Augustine  wrote, 
“The  soul  was  made  for  thee,  O God,  and  finds  rest 


China  l'n>ier  The  Empress  Dowager,  by  J.  O.  P.  Bland  .and  E.  B.arkhoase. 
Philadelphia:  J.  B.  Lippincott  Company. 


The  Empress  Dowager,  Her  Majesty  TzO  Hsi 

(See  Chapter  XIII) 

(From  a Photi>grapU  taken  io 


CONFUCIUS:  MORAL  PHILOSOPHY  2cx; 


only  in  thee” — the  greatest  sentence  this  Roman  father 
ever  penned.  But  again  he  writes,  “The  Christian  law 
is  to  love,  and  to  do  as  you  please.”  This  sentence 
smacks  of  antinomianism  and  falls  far  below  the  great 
sentence  quoted  above.  But  still  it  is  needed  to  set 
forth  the  freedom  of  which  one  is  often  conscious  when 
he  fully  abandons  self-will  for  the  path  of  duty.  We 
think  Confucius  had  not  absolute  perfection  but  such 
spiritual  freedom  in  mind  when  he  wrote  that  striking 
sentence:  “At  sixty  I never  relapsed  into  any  known 
fault:  at  seventy  I could  follow  my  own  inclinations 
without  going  wrong.”  This  statement  may  imply 
that  by  stern  moral  discipline  Confucius  had  brought 
himself  at  the  age  of  sixty  under  such  subjection  that 
he  never  relapsed  into  a known  fault,  and  at  seventy 
under  such  complete  subjection  that  he  could  follow 
his  inclinations  without  moral  condemnation.  If  we 
make  allowance  for  the  lower  moral  standards  of  the 
age  in  which  he  lived,  and  especially  for  Confucius’s 
lack  of  the  Bible  and  lack  of  any  deep  sense  of  sin,  we 
may  regard  the  statement  as  a sincere  expression  of 
his  judgment,  but  at  the  same  time  as  revealing  a de- 
fective conception  of  moral  perfection.  Upon  the 
whole,  we  are  inclined  to  treat  the  statement  as  a con- 
fession by  Confucius  of  the  sense  of  freedom  which 
had  come  to  him  on  the  complete  surrender  of  all  per- 
sonal ambition  and  all  personal  will.  If  so,  it  indicates 
that  he  not  only  passed  through  the  moral  crisis 
through  which  every  soul  must  pass  in  deciding  be- 
tween right  and  wrong,  but  that  he  experienced  the 
sense  of  freedom  which  comes  sooner  or  later  to  the 
soul  on  the  abandonment  of  self-will  for  duty.  If  un- 


210  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


derstood  in  this  sense,  the  sentence  is  not  to  be  in- 
terpreted as  a profession  of  any  absolute  perfection 
on  Confucius’s  part.  Confucius  confessed  that  he 
had  not  attained  to  conformity  to  his  own  rule  of  not 
doing  to  others  what  he  would  not  have  them  do  to 
him.® 

But  if  Confucius  challenges  posterity  as  did  the 
Christ,  “Who  of  you  convicteth  me  of  sin  ?”  we  put  our 
finger  upon  faults  both  of  omission  and  commission, 
which  are  difficult  to  reconcile  with  the  moral  stand- 
ards of  his  own  age.  Confucius  wrote  the  Annals  of 
his  native  state  of  Lu,  covering  a period  of  two  hun- 
dred and  thirty-eight  years,  B.  C.  722-484.  This  book, 
the  Spring  and  Autumn  Annals,  consists  largely  of  a 
list  of  events  almost  as  brief  as  the  headings  of  the 
chapters  in  the  older,  authorized  version  of  the  Bible. 
One  of  his  contemporaries,  probably  his  disciple,  Tso,® 
wrote  out  more  fully  the  historical  records  of  the 
period  which  Confucius  covered  in  his  Spring  and 
Autumn  Annals.  Possibly  he  copied  them  out  in  ad- 
vance for  the  use  of  Confucius.  If  written  after  Con- 
fucius had  prepared  the  Spring  and  Autumn  Annals, 
the  disciple  never  challenges  the  text  of  the  master. 
He  writes  apparently  in  entire  loyalty  to  Confucius. 
But,  on  the  other  hand,  he  displays  something  of  Con- 
fucius’s unbending  nature,  and  he  does  not  change  his 
narrative  to  make  it  correspond  with  the  summary 
which  Confucius  wrote.  Of  course  it  is  possible  that 
the  disciple  was  not  familiar  with  Confucius’  summary, 
though  if  he  wrote  after  Confucius,  this  does  not  seem 


‘ Encyclopajdia  Britannica,  vol.  viii,  p.  114,  d. 


CONFUCIUS:  MORAL  PHILOSOPHY  21 1 


at  all  probable.  It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  Con- 
fucius was  a born  conservative,  that  he  was  loyal  to 
existing  authority,  that  he  believed  most  sincerely  that 
rulers  were  appointed  by  Heaven.  The  Spring  and 
Autumn  Annals  were  compiled,  therefore,  with  a very 
definite  purpose  on  the  part  of  Confucius,  namely,  to 
set  forth  the  principles  upon  which  he  believed  civiliza- 
tion rested.  He  himself  was  aware  of  his  perversion 
of  history  in  the  interest  of  his  moral  philosophy.  One 
of  his  reported  remarks  is,  “By  these  Annals  I will  be 
known,  and  by  these  Annals  I will  be  judged.”  Our 
high  estimate  of  Confucius  is  shocked  by  the  fact  that 
the  full  narrative  of  his  disciple,  Tso,  shows  that  the 
summary  of  Confucius  is  at  times  thoroughly  mislead- 
ing. Dr.  Legge,  who  writes  with  respect  and  rever- 
ence for  Confucius,  is  obliged  to  charge  him  in  the 
Spring  and  Autumn  Annals,  first,  with  ignoring  facts 
of  history;  second,  with  concealing  facts  of  history; 
and,  third,  with  misrepresenting  facts  of  history.  He 
thinks  that  the  influence  of  the  book  has  been  injurious 
to  Chinese  civilization  by  greatly  lowering  the  Chinese 
conception  of  truthfulness.  Certainly,  this  volume 
gives  a decidedly  lower  impression  both  of  the  ability 
of  Confucius  and  his  character  than  do  the  estimates 
furnished  of  him  by  his  disciples. 

We  have  two  other  illustrations  that  Confucius’s 
conception  of  truthfulness  was  not  lofty.  At  fifty-six 
the  leader  of  a civil  faction  captured  him  and  some  of 
his  disciples,  but  released  them  on  an  oath  from  Con- 
fucius promising  that  they  would  go  to  P’u.  Confu- 
cius broke  faith  as  soon  as  the  group  were  out  of  the 
leader’s  sight  and  went  to  Wei  instead  of  to  P’u. 


212  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


When  one  of  his  disciples  asked  the  ground  of  this 
strange  conduct  he  replied  that  no  oath  given  under 
duress  was  binding.  On  another  occasion  a person 
whom  Confucius  did  not  wish  to  see  called  upon  him. 
Confucius  sent  him  the  formal  answer  that  he  was  not 
at  home,  but  continued  playing  the  lute  in  his  room  in 
order  to  let  the  visitor  and  Confucius’s  friends  know 
that  he  was  at  home  and  so  to  disgrace  his  visitor  in 
the  eyes  of  his  friends.  It  may  be  said,  however,  that 
this  conduct  does  not  display  any  lack  of  truthfulness 
on  the  part  of  Confucius;  because  by  his  action  he 
made  it  clear  both  to  his  disciples  and  to  the  would-be 
guest  that  he  was  at  home.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
action  was  not  only  a violation  of  that  courtesy  toward 
others  which  Confucius  always  taught,  but  showed  a 
low  standard  of  moral  veracity.  A self-respecting 
man  with  a high  standard  of  truthfulness  will  certainly 
find  some  better  way  of  rejecting  a caller  than  by  send- 
ing a false  statement  to  the  door. 

A second  blemish  in  his  character  is  found  in  his 
lack  of  humanitarianism,  and  especially  in  a lack  of 
kindly  treatment  of  women.  He  was  familiar  with 
slavery  and  with  concubinage  and  neglected  to  con- 
demn either  of  them,  not,  however,  because,  like  Christ, 
he  was  placing  supreme  emphasis  upon  the  heart  and 
spirit,  and  summing  up  all  outward  conduct  in  the  two 
spiritual  injunctions.  Love  God  with  all  thine  heart, 
and  thy  neighbor  as  thy  self.  Upon  the  contrary,  while 
Confucius  laid  little  emphasis  upon  the  heart  and  all 
his  teachings  were  concentrated  upon  outward  con- 
duct, he  uttered  no  condemnation  of  slavery  and  no 
condemnation  of  concubinage — the  vilest  forms  of  out- 


1 


CONFUCIUS:  MORAL  PHILOSOPHY  213 

ward  conduct  ever  devised  by  man.  Indeed,  he  buried 
his  own  mother,  who  was  his  father’s  concubine,  in  the 
grave  with  his  father  and  raised  a mound  over  them, 
leaving  the  real  wife  of  his  father  in  an  unknown 
grave.  While  his  disciples  record  his  acts  in  great 
detail,  there  is  not  a reference  to  the  lame  brother  or 
to  any  one  of  the  nine  sisters ; and  there  is  not  a refer- 
ence to  the  two  daughters  of  Confucius  nor  to  his  wife, 
except  the  indirect  knowledge  that  he  was  at  times 
separated  from  her  for  years  with  no  statement  of 
provision  for  her  support,  and  with  the  record  of  his 
rebuke  of  his  son  for  mourning  over  her  death. 

We  do  Confucius  serious  injustice,  however,  if 
we  judge  these  faults  in  the  light  of  our  day.  We  must 
remember  that  Plato  openly  sanctioned  slavery,  that 
Abraham  practiced  concubinage  and  was  guilty  of 
falsehood  in  representing  Sarah  as  his  sister  instead 
of  as  his  wife.  John  Stuart  Mill,  in  spite  of  his  own 
failure  to  accept  Christ  as  Saviour  and  Lord,  said  that 
if  the  civilized  world  were  to  select  any  person  whose 
example  should  be  implicitly  followed,  the  choice  could 
not  possibly  have  fallen  upon  a nobler  character  than 
that  of  Jesus.  So  with  a lack  of  knowledge  of  Jesus  by 
the  Chinese,  if  they  were  to  select  a person  whom  they 
would  reverence  and  attempt  to  imitate,  upon  the 
whole,  they  could  not  have  selected  a better  person 
than  Confucius.  Confucius  impresses  all  students  of 
his  life  as  a puritanical  character,  lacking  somewhat  in 
natural  affection,  but,  everything  considered,  worthy 
of  the  imitation  with  which  the  Chinese  have  honored 
him. 

Turning  to  his  theology  and  philosophy,  while  Con- 


214  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

fucius  laid  no  claim  to  a revelation,  nevertheless  he 
indicated  on  one  or  two  classic  occasions  his  conviction 
that  he  had  a mission  from  Heaven.  He  believed 
vaguely  in  a personal  Creator,  or,  at  any  rate,  in  edit- 
ing the  Shu  Ching,  he  left  untouched  numerous  pas- 
sages which  he  found  in  these  ancient  books  relating 
to  a personal  God.  In  his  own  conversations  as  re- 
lated in  the  Analects  compiled  by  the  second  genera- 
tion of  his  disciples,  the  word  “Shang-ti” — our  usual 
Protestant  term  for  “God” — largely  disappears,  and 
the  more  impersonal,  vaguer  term,  “Heaven,”  takes 
its  place.  Probably  his  reticence  in  regard  to  spiritual 
beings  was  due  in  part  to  the  evils  which  he  saw  flow- 
ing from  the  gross  superstition  of  his  age.  Moses 
makes  no  mention  of  immortality,  Socrates  was  put  to 
death  nominally  on  the  ground  of  his  disbelief  in  God, 
and  Plato  rejects  polytheism  in  favor  of  theism.  Prob- 
ably without  any  strong  conviction  of  a personal  God, 
Confucius  also  remains  reticent  upon  supernatural 
themes  because  of  his  opposition  to  superstitions  which 
he  did  not  care  to  condemn  more  openly.  On  being 
asked  what  constitutes  wisdom,  he  replied,  “To  give 
oneself  earnestly  to  duties  to  men,  and  while  respecting 
spiritual  beings,  to  keep  aloof  from  them — that  may 
be  called  wisdom.”  In  answer  to  the  inquiry  as  to 
how  we  may  best  serve  the  spirits,  he  said,  “When  one 
cannot  serve  man,  how  can  he  serve  the  spirits?”  On 
being  qustioned  as  to  what  lies  beyond  death,  he  said, 
“While  one  cannot  know  life,  how  can  he  know 
death?”  In  regard  to  theism  and  eternal  life  he  was, 
therefore,  largely  agnostic. 

Throughout  his  life  and  teaching  Confucius  lays  the 


i 


CONFUCIUS:  MORAL  PHILOSOPHY  215 


supreme  stress  on  duty.  His  moral  philosophy  is  em- 
bodied in  the  five  relations  of  life:  ruler  and  minister, 
husband  and  wife,  father  and  son,  older  brother  and 
younger  brother,  friend  and  friend.  And  in  discussing 
the  relation  of  the  superior — ruler,  husband,  father, 
elder  brother — while  always  recognizing  his  authority, 
he  ever  lays  the  emphasis  upon  duty.  In  discussing 
the  relation  of  the  inferior — minister,  wife,  son,  and 
younger  brother — he  never  ceases  laying  the  emphasis 
upon  obedience  and  duty.  Indeed,  so  stern  and  un- 
bending is  his  estimate  of  duty  that  he  feels  compelled 
to  assert  as  its  corollary  the  ability  of  every  man,  un- 
aided, always  to  do  those  acts  which  he  ought  to  per- 
form, and  to  conquer  those  temptations  which  ought 
to  be  suppressed.  Above  all,  Confucius  is  a practical 
idealist;  he  holds  to  the  inherent  goodness  of  human 
nature.  While  this  indicates  the  lofty  tone  of  his  phi- 
losophy, nevertheless  it  indicates  also  one  of  the  weak- 
nesses of  it.  He  had  no  adequate  conception  of  sin, 
and  of  the  consequent  corruption  of  human  nature; 
he  believed  despite  all  teachings  of  experience  that 
man  is  capable  of  perfecting  himself  by  his  own 
strength.  This  is  one  of  the  fundamental  weaknesses 
of  his  ethical  system,  and  one  reason  why  that  system 
has  failed  so  conspicuously  in  regenerating  China. 
Despite  all  appearances  to  the  contrary,  Confucius 
never  abandoned  the  conviction  that  man  is  free,  that 
he  is  self-sufficient  for  all  moral  tasks,  and  he  so  be- 
lieved in  man’s  greatness  as  to  teach  that  heaven, 
earth,  and  man  form  a trinity.  He  holds  throughout 
his  life  that  at  different  times  in  history  a Saint,  or 
holy  man,  has  appeared,  that  is,  a man  who  from 


2i6  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


infancy  is  of  unerring  wisdom,  and  of  faultless  char- 
acter— a character  such  as  Christians  represent  Jesus 
alone  to  have*  developed.  This  is  the  representative 
man  of  humanity;  and  Confucius  holds  that  the  Holy 
Man  may  be  expected  to  reappear  at  any  time.  Below 
the  Saint,  Confucius  places  the  Sage,  that  is,  the  man 
who  by  lifelong  struggle  for  his  convictions  at  last 
attains  to  sainthood.  Confucius  holds  that  every  man 
may  hope  to  become  a Sage.  Among  other  definitions 
of  idealism  is  this:  “Any  view  of  the  universe  which 
holds  that  the  ground  of  existence  is  a realistic  reason 
or  spirit.”  ’ Confucius  firmly  held  this  conviction  and 
consistently  held  that  a life  according  to  this  reason 
is  the  highest  duty  of  man  in  the  present  world. 
Again,  Confucius  holds  obedience  to  reason  to  be  the 
central  virtue  of  man,  to  be  the  supreme  proof  of  his 
humanity.  This  is  the  realization  of  one’s  inner  self. 
The  humanity  which  each  is  to  cultivate  is  self-perfec- 
tion, but  each  one  must  manifest  his  humanity  in  the 
practical  sphere  of  life  in  the  discharge  of  one’s  duties 
among  men;  therein  lies  the  path  of  perfection.  At 
this  point  Confucianism,  Taoism,  and  Buddhism  are 
agreed,  and  they  all  point  toward  Christ.  Surely,  this 
undying  enthusiasm  for  humanity,  this  inexpugnable 
conviction  of  the  goodness  and  worth  of  man’s  intel- 
lectual and  moral  nature,  justify  us  in  calling  Con- 
fucius a practical  idealist.  Confucius  is  clear  in  the 
conviction  that  all  philosophy  culminates  in  a doctrine 
of  human  perfection,  and  that  in  seeking  human  per- 
fection the  path  lies  along  the  road  of  duty  to  the 

’Baldwin,  James  Mark:  Dictionary  of  Philosophy  and  Psychology,  article 
on  "Idealism.” 


CONFUCIUS:  MORAL  PHILOSOPHY  217 


family,  the  community,  and  the  state.  In  the  teachings 
of  humanitarianism  as  a supreme  virtue  Confucius  is 
a practical  idealist  of  the  highest  type. 

Once  more,  Confucius  holds  as  his  final  demonstra- 
tion of  the  goodness  of  human  nature  that  the  highest 
sincerity  and  the  highest  moral  perfection  simply  de- 
mand outward  action  in  accordance  with  one’s  inner 
nature.  But  acting  according  to  one’s  nature  will  not 
result  in  goodness  unless  the  nature  itself  is  funda- 
mentally good.  There  could  be  no  call  to  virtue  unless 
men  were  made  for  virtue.  The  insistence  of  Con- 
fucius throughout  that  ideal  conduct  upon  the  part  of 
the  Ruler  is  all-sufficient  to  produce  ideal  conduct  upon 
the  part  of  the  ruled  is  not  true  to  the  facts  of  history 
or  to  the  realities  of  life.  It  fails  to  recognize  the  de- 
generate condition  of  human  nature.  Nevertheless, 
the  error  is  a noble  one.  It  rests  upon  the  fundamental 
assumption  that  man  was  made  in  the  image  of  Tao, 
or  Reason,  or  the  Logos;  and  that  he  is  capable  of 
responding  to  that  call.  A very  few  references  in  his 
reported  conversations  to  providential  guidance  and 
providential  help  might  lead  one  to  think  that,  like 
Socrates,  he  was  an  unconscious  advocate  in  advance 
of  the  doctrine  that  there  is  a Holy  Spirit  in  the  world 
to  guide  men  into  all  truth,  and  to  give  them  strength 
to  walk  in  the  path  of  duty.  One  gains  no  proper  con- 
ception of  the  influence  of  Confucius  over  nearly  a 
fourth  of  the  human  race  for  the  last  twenty-five  hun- 
dred years  without  a recognition  of  the  idealism  for 
which  he  ever  pleaded  in  his  conversations,  and  to 
which  he  devoted  his  life.  Here,  again,  while  Con- 
fucius emphasizes  idealism,  at  the  same  time  he  is  so 


2i8  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


thoroughly  practical  and  resorts  to  such  utilitarian 
considerations  in  his  appeals  to  men  to  lead  the  ideal 
life,  that  he  may  be  called  a utilitarian  idealist. 

Lastly,  Confucius  seems  to  us  to  be  the  greatest  con- 
servative that  the  human  race  has  ever  produced. 
There  are  two  types  of  great  men : the  progressive  and 
the  conservative,  the  prophet  and  the  priest.  The 
former  is  the  greater  type  because  it  requires  more 
foresight,  more  power  of  initiative,  and  greater  en- 
ergy to  inaugurate  a new  kingdom  than  to  maintain 
a kingdom  already  established.  But  while  sympathiz- 
ing by  predilection  with  the  former  class,  we  have  a 
growing  appreciation  of  the  conservative  type  of 
mankind.  Surely,  next  to  creating  wealth  is  the 
power  to  preserve  it  and  to  use  it  wisely  after  it  is 
created.  Next  to  gaining  knowledge  is  the  power 
to  retain  all  the  knowledge  one  has  ever  possessed 
and  be  able  to  use  it  at  a moment’s  notice.  Surely, 
next  to  increasing  one’s  strength  is  the  power  to 
preserve  the  strength  and  vitality  which  one  already 
possesses.  Next  to  achieving  holiness  is  the  power  to 
maintain  the  moral  and  spiritual  heights  already 
achieved.  Next  to  creating  national  life  is  the  ability 
to  preserve  the  resources  of  a nation  or  a civilization 
in  lasting  power.  Christ  is  the  supreme  leader  of  hu- 
manity. He  is  the  alpha  and  the  omega — the  first  and 
the  last:  he  is  the  supreme  conservative  because  the 
preserver  of  all  that  is  good  in  antiquity.  He  is  the 
supreme  utilitarian  or  servant  of  the  present,  because 
he  is  the  guide  and  inspirer  and  energizer  of  men  in 
their  present  struggles.  He  is  the  supreme  prophet, 
because  he  alone  knows  the  goal  and  is  able  to  guide 


CONFUCIUS:  MORAL  PHILOSOPHY  219 

humanity  to  its  own:  “I  am  he  who  was,  and  who  is, 
and  who  is  to  come.”  But  next  to  Christ,  in  forming 
any  estimate  of  great  men,  Confucius  is  the  supreme 
conservative.  Moses  is  the  only  other  man  who  can 
rank  with  him  in  this  regard.  Moses  as  the  lawgiver 
of  the  Western  world  preserves  as  well  as  creates:  his 
chief  function  was  prophetic  or  creative.  In  this  joint 
capacity,  as  preserver  of  the  best  in  the  earlier  history 
of  his  race  and  as  their  guide  to  a higher  moral  and 
spiritual  life,  Moses  surpassed  Confucius.  But  Con- 
fucius has  preserved  a larger  race  for  a longer  time 
and  with  greater  national  unity  than  did  Moses.  Con- 
fucius rendered  this  supreme  service  to  China  because 
of  the  common  sense  and  of  the  moral  judgment  dis- 
played by  his  teachings ; because  of  his  reverence  and 
self-control ; because  of  his  unswerving  devotion  to  his 
ideal  through  fifty-six  years  of  struggle;  and  because, 
above  all,  with  integrity  and  sincerity  he  responded 
more  fully  than  any  other  of  his  countrymen  to  “the 
true  light  which  lighteth  every  man  coming  into  the 
world.”  Hence  he  deserves  to  rank  among  the  great 
moral  philosophers  and  teachers  of  mankind.  Indeed, 
he  ranks  along  with  the  forces  of  nature  as  one  of  the 
causes  contributing  to  the  preservation  of  Chinese  civ- 
ilization. 

Books  for  Reference 
Same  as  for  Chapter  VII. 


CHAPTER  IX 


THE  CONFUCIAN  SCHOOL 

Mencius,  B.  C.  372-289.  Mencius  was  the  most 
brilliant  exponent  of  Confucius.  As  Confucius  died 
in  B.  C.  478  and  Mencius  was  born  in  B.  C.  372,  a cen- 
tury lies  between  them.  During  this  century  political 
conditions  grew  steadily  worse.  The  Chow  dynasty 
was  approaching  ruin.  While  China  constituted  nom- 
inally one  kingdom,  in  reality  it  consisted  of  seven 
monarchies,  usually  at  war  with  one  another;  and 
these  wars  led  to  many  abuses  of  royal  prerogative. 

Mencius  was  at  first  a Taoist;  but  after  fuller  study 
and  reflection  he  came  to  regard  Confucius  as  the 
greatest  Sage  and  later  as  one  of  the  Holy  Men  of 
China,  and  followed  in  his  footsteps. 

No  account  of  the  life  of  Mencius  is  complete  which 
does  not  begin  with  his  mother,  who  is  regarded  as 
the  “model  mother”  of  China.  We  have  told  the  story 
in  Appendix  VI.  Mencius  became  a teacher  like  Con- 
fucius, and  for  many  years  conducted  a school.  He 
was  greatly  troubled,  as  was  Confucius,  over  the  condi- 
tion of  the  people,  and  finally  decided  that  he  was  called 
by  Heaven  to  reform  the  nation.  As  a scholar  Men- 
cius, like  Confucius,  had  access  to  official  circles.  But 
the  visits  of  Mencius  to  courts  were  as  little  pro- 
ductive of  immediate  effects  as  were  the  visits  of  Con- 
fucius. A few  of  his  disciples  remained  faithful  to 

him  during  the  twenty  years  of  travel  from  court  to 

220 


THE  CONFUCIAN  SCHOOL 


22 1 


court.  Mencius  accepted  large  gifts  from  the  kings 
whom  he  visited,  and  lived  as  a man  of  rank.  But  in 
the  year  B.  C.  310,  after  twenty  years  of  travel  and 
constant  failure  to  find  employment  as  an  official,  he 
accepted  these  refusals  as  the  will  of  Heaven,  and 
retired  to  teach  his  pupils  and  to  arrange  his  doctrine 
in  a written  form  for  posterity.  The  advanced  stage 
of  corruption  in  the  nation  led  Mencius  to  more  radical 
measures  of  reform  than  Confucius  had  proposed,  and 
in  theory  Mencius  adopted  to  a large  extent  the  demo- 
cratic principle.  This  principle,  however,  antedates 
both  Mencius  and  Confucius.  There  is  an  old  motto, 

“Heaven  sees  as  the  people  see : 

Heaven  hears  as  the  people  hear.” 

This  motto  Mencius  delighted  to  quote,  and  advo- 
cated its  constant  application.  He  himself  said: 
“The  people  are  the  most  important  element  in  the 
nation.  The  altars  of  the  spirits  of  land  and  grain 
are  second.  The  sovereign  is  the  slightest  element.” 
Mencius  placed  the  altars  of  the  spirits  of  land  and 
grain  as  the  second  element  in  the  nation  because  he 
believed  that  upon  the  worship  of  these  spirits  de- 
pended the  prosperity  of  the  people.  He  expressed  his 
reliance  upon  popular  will  in  the  following  statements : 
“If  the  ministers  say  a certain  man  is  a man  of  ability, 
it  is  insufficient ; if  all  the  officials  say  he  is  able,  do  not 
yet  make  him  an  official ; if  all  the  people  say  he  is  able, 
examine  him  and  afterward  use  him  as  an  official.” 
In  the  next  quotation  he  applies  the  same  principle  in 
condemning  men  as  in  exalting  them,  and  states  the 
principle  upon  which  our  trial  by  jury  rests : “If  all  the 


222  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


ministers  say  this  man  should  be  executed,  do  not 
listen ; if  all  the  officials  say  you  can  kill  this  man,  their 
verdict  is  yet  insufficient;  if  all  the  people  say  you 
ought  to  kill  him,  examine  and  see  if  you  should  kill 
him,  and  then  execute  him.”  Wicked  kings  were  then 
ruling,  and  one  of  them  asked  Mencius  the  duty  of  a 
minister,  Mencius  answered : “If  the  king  is  false,  he 
should  be  admonished,  that  is,  by  the  minister.  If 
warned  several  times  and  he  heeds  not,  change  him.” 
The  king  was  angry  at  the  answer  and  changed  color. 
Mencius  replied,  “I  must  speak  the  truth  in  my  an- 
swers.” Mencius  went  still  further  and  coined  the 
expression,  “Killing  a bad  monarch  is  no  murder.”  He 
thus  was  perhaps  the  first  to  formulate  the  principle 
of  revolution.  When  asked  how  the  people  should 
proceed  in  overthrowing  a bad  monarch,  Mencius  said : 
“The  first  to  act  should  be  the  royal  family.  If  the 
royal  family  refuses  to  put  away  a bad  ruler,  then  the 
minister  should  act.  If  the  minister  fails  to  do  his 
duty,  then  the  ‘Minister  of  Heaven.’  ” By  the  “Min- 
ister of  Heaven”  Mencius  meant  some  man  who  either 
in  private  life  or  as  an  official  had  shown  such  virtue 
that  the  eyes  of  all  turned  to  him  in  national  distress 
for  deliverance.  He  was  the  person  who  in  the  final 
crisis  should  summon  the  people  to  his  aid  and  over- 
throw a bad  government. 

Mencius  advocated  universal  education,  free  trade, 
and  light  taxes  based  wholly  upon  ground  rent — the 
single-tax  theory  of  Henry  George.  He  also  advo- 
cated drainage  and  irrigation.  For  the  control  of  the 
people  he  depended,  as  did  Confucius,  very  largely 
upon  the  example  of  the  sovereign  in  virtue,  industry, 


THE  CONFUCTAN  SCHOOT. 


223 


and  unselfish  service.  He  held,  like  Confucius,  that 
man  is  by  nature  good ; and  that  if  the  sovereign  acts 
wisely,  justly,  and  unselfishly,  he  will  move  all  hearts 
to  imitate  his  example.  In  distinguishing  men  from 
beasts  he  lays  stress  upon  what  ought  to  be  the  leading 
mark  of  humanity  in  his  statement,  “Benevolence  is  the 
distinguishing  characteristic  of  man.”  In  holding  to 
the  uprightness  of  human  nature  Mencius  is  followed 
by  Butler,  the  profoundest  thinker  on  moral  questions 
whom  England  has  produced,  but  whose  views  on  this 
question  were  those  of  Zeno  baptized  into  Christ.^ 
Again  Mencius  said:  “When  one  by  force  subdues 
men,  they  do  not  submit  to  him  in  heart.  When  he 
subdues  them  by  virtue,  in  their  hearts’  core  they  bless 
him  and  sincerely  submit  to  him.”  Another  time  he 
said,  “The  great  man  is  he  who  does  not  lose  his  child 
heart.”  In  regard  to  the  attainment  of  virtue,  the 
Encyclopaedia  Britannica^  says  that  Confucius  con- 
fessed that  he  had  not  attained  his  ideal,  but  that  Men- 
cius never  made  that  confession.  But  this  pride,  so  far 
as  it  existed,  was  due  to  the  summons  frequently  made 
upon  him  to  stand  up  for  his  convictions  in  opposition 
to  men  in  far  higher  stations  than  himself.  If  Con- 
fucius was  the  Moses,  Mencius  was  the  Elijah  of  his 
people.  He  rebuked  kings  and  men  in  authority  on 
many  occasions,  saying  to  his  disciples,  “The  rich  man 
has  his  palace,  his  wealth,  and  his  concubines;  you 
have  your  principles : why  should  you  fear  him  ?”  He 
warned  his  disciples  to  look  down  on  external  glory 
and  external  wealth  and  to  look  up  only  to  character 


* Butler,  Joseph:  Sermons  II  and  III. 

• Encyclopsedia  Britannica,  vol.  xviii,  p.  1 14,  d. 


224  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


and  benevolence.  Apparently,  he  caught  more  than 
glimpses  of  monotheism,  saying  at  one  time,  “God  is 
all-knowing,  self-controlled,  all-controlling,  and  one.” 
Again  he  said,  “Only  God  is  constant:  the  good  are 
regarded  and  the  evil  punished.”  On  the  other  hand, 
in  the  saying  already  quoted,  that  the  altars  of  the 
spirits  of  land  and  of  grain  constitute  the  second  ele- 
ment in  the  nation,  Mencius  admits  the  worship  of 
spirits  in  addition  to  the  worship  of  the  true  God.  The 
stern  life  of  this  ancient  Puritan  is  seen  in  the  closing 
cpiotation:  “I  love  life  and  I love  righteousness.  If  I 
cannot  have  both,  I choose  righteousness.” 

Wang  An-siiih,  A.  D.  1021-1086.  Already  we 
have  mentioned  the  fact  that  no  great  original  move- 
ment in  philosophy  appeared  for  twelve  hundred  years 
after  the  death  of  Mencius.  In  addition  to  the  great 
quickening  of  intellectual  life,  about  A.  D.  1000,  by  the 
discovery  of  block  printing  in  A.  D.  932,  there  was 
another  reason  for  a new  era  in  philosophy,  and  espe- 
cially in  political  philosophy.  Werner^  shows  that  in 
the  preceding  century  there  was  a tax  of  five  per  cent 
on  the  produce  of  the  land,  also  that  a system  of  rents 
prevailed,  but  that  at  a later  date  illegal  taxes  were 
abolished,  and  that  there  were  attempts  to  induce  the 
people  to  cultivate  and  settle  on  the  land,  indicatingthat 
they  had  left  it.  These  signs  betoken  a profound  up- 
heaval among  the  farmers  of  the  empire.  ByA.D.  1052 
the  area  of  the  taxable  cultivated  land  had  fallen  off 
one  half.  Some  economic  cause  was  producing  pro- 
found changes  among  the  farmers.  Wang  An-shih, 
1021-1086,  was  a brilliant  scholar  who  first  attracted 


’ Werner,  E.  T.  C.:  Descriptive  Sociology  of  the  Chinese,  Table  VI,  col.  2. 


THE  CONFUCIAN  SCHOOL 


225 


attention  by  a fresh  interpretation  of  the  Classics,  sug- 
gesting’ some  methods  for  the  relief  of  the  farmers.  He 
received  an  appointment  as  a magistrate  in  the  Che- 
kiang Province  and  made  a high  reputation  by  check- 
ing the  devastations  of  floods  and  by  other  measures 
for  the  benefit  of  the  farmers.  He  was  invited  to  the 
capital  in  1060  but  preferred  his  provincial  appoint- 
ment. But  in  1068,  on  the  invitation  of  the  emperor 
Shen  Tsung,  he  became  expositor  at  the  Hanlin  Acad- 
emy, the  appointment  indicating  that  his  reputation 
consisted  in  his  interpretation  of  the  Classics.  But  the 
same  year  the  emperor  made  him  state  councilor.  The 
basis  of  his  political  philosophy  was  very  acceptable  to 
the  imperial  mind.  Wang  An-shih  held  that  the  land, 
property,  and  persons  of  all  the  earth,  and  especially 
of  China,  belonged  to  the  emperor  as  the  Son  of 
Heaven.  Chinese  philosophy  in  general  accepted  this 
view  with  the  emphasis  laid  upon  the  clause  “As  Son 
of  Heaven,”  and  it  meant  little  more  than  the  “right  of 
eminent  domain”  means  in  Western  nations.  But 
Wang  An-shih  in  the  crisis  urged  the  emperor  as 
“father  and  mother  of  the  people”  to  use  his  unlimited 
power  for  the  relief  of  agriculture  which  had  fallen 
oflf  by  one  half.  Wang  was  speedily  made  prime  min- 
ister, and  for  eighteen  years,  from  1068  to  1086,  he 
was  supported  by  the  emperor  against  all  opponents 
in  carrying  out  his  reforms.^ 

First.  He  provided  for  a resurvey  of  all  the  lands 
and  a lowering  of  the  land  taxes. 

Second.  He  provided  for  taxes  payable  in  kind. 

Third.  He  brought  about  a nationalization  of  com- 


* Pott,  F.  L.  H.:  A Sketch  of  Chinese  History,  p.  65. 


226  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


merce  and  transportation.  The  government  after  ac- 
cepting its  share  of  the  produce  for  a moderate  tax 
then  bought  at  a fair  price  such  balance  of  the  produce 
as  the  farmers  could  spare,  transported  it  to  a place 
of  need,  and  sold  it  at  a fair  profit. 

Fourth.  The  government  made  advances  for  seed, 
tools,  etc.,  for  the  reclamation  of  the  land,  and  also  to 
aid  impoverished  farmers  on  cultivated  plots,  and  ac- 
cepted repayment  of  loans  after  harvest  with  interest 
at  the  rate  of  two  per  cent  a month — the  usual  rate  of 
interest  being  three  per  cent  a month  and  even  more. 

Fifth.  The  government  levied  an  income  tax.  All 
the  internal  improvements  of  the  empire — roads, 
canals,  great  walls  for  defense,  walls  for  cities,  etc. — 
had  been  maintained  down  to  this  period  through 
forced  labor.  At  best,  this  burden  fell  evenly  upon 
each  individual,  rich  and  poor;  but  the  rich  usually 
escaped  direct  personal  labor  through  payment  of  a 
small  tax  or  through  bribery.  At  Wang  An-shih’s 
advice,  the  entire  expense  of  the  government  for  the 
maintenance  and  extension  of  internal  improvements 
and  public  works  was  turned  into  a money  tax,  and 
this  money  tax  was  levied  upon  the  citizens  in  propor- 
tion to  each  man’s  income.  This  took  the  burden  off 
the  common  people  and  placed  it  upon  the  wealthy. 

Sixth.  Wang  An-shih  nationalized  military  service. 
As  a partial  offset  to  the  relief  of  the  masses,  the  na- 
tion was  divided  into  groups  of  ten  families  with  an 
inspector  or  alderman  over  each  group;  and  each 
family  was  obliged  to  keep  on  its  doorpost  the  name 
and  age  of  each  member  within.  A rigid  inspection  of 
families  was  thus  maintained  similar  to  the  rigid 


THE  CONFUCIAN  SCHOOL 


227 


inspection  of  income;  and  every  family  having  two 
sons  was  obliged  to  enroll  the  younger  for  service  as 
a soldier.  In  time  of  peace  he  could  continue  on  the 
farm  or  in  the  shop,  but  in  times  of  national  danger 
the  alderman  must  gather  and  forward  these  recruits 
to  the  drill  ground  and  from  there  send  them  on  to 
the  army.  Partly  to  maintain  a strong  cavalry  force 
in  case  of  national  trouble,  and  partly  as  a sop  to  the 
farmers  for  the  surrender  of  their  sons,  the  govern- 
ment allowed  each  farmer  the  price  of  a horse  and  the 
cost  of  its  upkeep  on  the  condition  that  a horse  be  kept 
upon  each  farm.  The  farmer  was  allowed  the  free 
use  of  the  animal  during  times  of  peace,  but  when  na- 
tional danger  approached  the  younger  son  must  not 
only  come  to  the  central  camp  but  bring  the  horse 
with  him. 

Seventh.  Wang  An-shih  nationalized  local  gov- 
ernment or  supplanted  local  authority  by  national 
authority.  From  the  earliest  ages  in  the  struggles 
between  nationalism  and  feudalism  the  emperor  in 
China  usually  had  striven  to  keep  the  families  and 
clans  upon  his  side  by  not  appointing  any  official  lower 
than  the  district  or  county  magistrates,  thus  virtually 
guaranteeing  local  self-government  to  all  divisions 
within  the  county.  These  county  officials  had  subor- 
dinates who  reported  to  them  on  the  affairs  of  the  dis- 
trict and  helped  enforce  the  laws.  The  emperor  thus  in 
part  made  a virtue  of  necessity.  With  the  nobles  strug- 
gling for  the  subjection  of  the  people  to  themselves 
as  serfs  on  the  ground  that  they  in  turn  were  obliged 
to  render  service  to  the  sovereign,  it  was  difficult  for 
the  sovereign,  had  he  desired  to  do  so,  to  thrust  officials 


228  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


into  the  districts  or  counties  directly  over  the  people 
whom  the  noble  assumed  to  control.  But  as  the  people 
wished  to  rule  themselves  or  do  as  they  pleased,  it  was 
easy  for  the  sovereign  to  encourage  them  in  resisting 
the  exactions  of  the  barons  and  in  maintaining  local 
self-government.  As  a result  of  the  constantly  aris- 
ing conflicts  between  the  nobles  and  the  imperial 
authorities,  the  villages,  clans,  and  families  from  the 
earliest  ages  had  been  accustomed  largely  to  rule  them- 
selves. Thus  the  townships  or  wards  and  villages 
selected  their  own  immediate  rulers,  made  their  own 
regulations  in  regard  to  police,  the  census,  and  the 
method  of  gathering  taxes  for  the  central  government 
and  contributions  for  their  local  protection  and  for 
other  purposes.  This  local  self-government  had  al- 
ways been  acceptable  to  the  people,  and  they  usually 
had  maintained  their  right  to  it  against  the  conflicting 
claims  of  the  sovereign  and  the  nobles.  Wang  An- 
shih’s  plan  struck  a deathblow  to  local  self-government 
by  the  central  government  appointing  an  alderman 
over  every  ten  families,  a superior  officer  over  every 
fifty  families,  and  a still  higher  officer  over  every  group 
of  five  hundred  families.  The  imperial  power  thus  ran 
down  from  the  throne  to  the  last  man  in  the  empire. 
In  a word,  Wang  An-shih  inaugurated  in  China  gov- 
ernment socialism  of  an  advanced  type — a profound 
reform  or  revolution  to  introduce  into  any  country  at 
any  period  of  history — and  he  completely  abolished  for 
the  time  being  all  local  self-government  throughout 
the  empire. 

The  opposition  to  his  philosophy  developed  among 
a group  of  brilliant  leaders.  Ch’eng  Hsiang,  A.  D. 


THE  CONFUCIAN  SCHOOL 


229 


1006-1090,  and  his  son  Ch’eng  Hao,  1032-1085,®  were 
prominent  advisers  in  the  government,  and  both  openly 
opposed  Wang  An-shih’s  reforms  on  the  ground  that 
they  violated  the  Confucian  philosophy,  and  were 
based  upon  a false  exposition  of  the  Classics.  Ch’en 
Hsiang,  another  imperial  adviser'*  who  had  recom- 
mended Ssu-ma  Kuang,  the  great  historian,  to  the  em- 
peror, also  openly  opposed  Wans:  An-shih.  In  response 
to  this  unpleasant  advice,  the  emperor  appointed  these 
three  men  to  petty  posts  in  different  provinces — a 
mild  form  of  banishment.  Ssu-ma  Kuang  remained 
at  court  longer  and  recommended  Ch’eng  I,  the 
youngest  and  most  brilliant  son  of  Ch’eng  Hsiang, 
as  tutor  to  the  young  emperor.  But  later,  Ssu-ma 
Kuang,  on  the  emperor  not  accepting  his  suggestion 
that  Wang  An-shih  be  made  the  head  of  the  Hanlin 
Academy  instead  of  prime  minister,  retired  to  private 
life.  These  four  men,  Ch’eng  Hsiang,  Ch’eng  Hao, 
Chen  Hsiang,  and  Ssu-ma  Kuang,  being  left  at  leisure, 
did  their  utmost,  Ssu-ma  Kuang  as  an  historian  and 
the  rest  as  philosophers  and  as  commentators  on  the 
Classics,  to  overthrow  Wang  An-shih.  It  may  be 
added  that  later  the  emperor  himself  became  weary 
of  Wang  An-shih  because  he  followed  an  old  custom 
of  many  Chinese  farmers  of  not  washing  either  cloth- 
ing or  hands  and  face,  and  appeared  in  the  emperor’s 
presence  in  clothes  that  had  never  been  washed,  and 
with  the  dirt  simply  rubbed  off  his  hands  and  face;  the 
farmers  at  first  were  delighted  with  him  and  helped  by 
his  reforms,  but  they  grew  tired  of  giving  a son  to  the 
nation  and  sparing  both  him  and  the  horse  often  at 


‘Giles,  Herbert  A.:  China  and  the  Chinese,  p.  115. 


‘ Ibid.,  p.  91. 


230  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

the  very  time  when  both  were  most  needed  on  the 
farm ; the  great  masses  of  the  people  living  in  the  vil- 
lages were  offended  at  the  enforced  surrender  of  local 
self-government  to  a central  bureaucracy ; and  all  men 
of  means  opposed  what  they  deemed  his  deathblow  to 
thrift  and  private  property.  Above  all,  experience  did 
not  vindicate  the  reforms.  Hence  Wang  An-shih,  at 
the  close  of  eighteen  years  of  almost  complete  control 
of  the  empire,  found  himself  dismissed  and  every  one 
of  his  reforms  reversed.  Probably  Wang  An-shih ’s 
administration  of  China  furnishes  the  largest  illustra- 
tion in  human  history  of  the  embodiment  of  socialism 
in  national  government. 

Chu  Hsi,  a.  D.  1130-1200.  The  socialistic  experi- 
ment stirred  the  nation  to  its  depths,  and  entailed  con- 
sequences reaching  far  beyond  Wang  An-shih’s  life- 
time or  the  century  in  which  he  lived.  The  man  who, 
himself  profoundly  stirred  by  the  new  thought  spring- 
ing out  of  Wang  An-shih’s  experiment,  created  an 
epoch  in  Chinese  philosophy,  was  yet  to  appear.  This 
man  was  Chu  Hsi.  He  was  born  in  Fukien,  the  son 
of  an  official.  He  was  a brilliant  student  and  won  his 
third,  or  Hanlin,  degree  at  nineteen.  He  received  an 
office  and  made  a brilliant  official  record.  At  this  time 
he  was  a liberal  in  religion,  or  at  least  a Dissenter, 
inclined  to  Buddhism,  and  some  reports  say  that  he 
entered  the  priesthood.  But  in  1154,  under  Li  Tsung, 
a much  profounder  philosopher  and  commentator  on 
the  Classics  than  Chu  Hsi  ever  had  met  before,  he 
became  a thorough  Confucianist  of  the  orthodox  type. 
His  reputation  led  to  a sinecure  appointment  in  Honan 
with  time  for  literary  work — time  which  he  improved 


THE  CONFUCIAN  SCHOOL 


231 


to  the  utmost.  He  was  summoned  to  the  capital  in 
A.  D.  1 163,  but  soon  received  permission  to  retire,  and 
spent  fifteen  years  more  in  study,  bringing  out  a sum- 
mary of  the  philosophy  of  his  old  master,  Li  Tsung, 
and  revising,  condensing,  and  bringing  down  to  date 
Ssu-ma  Kuang’s  Mirror  of  History,  adapting  it  so  per- 
fectly to  the  Chinese  mind  that  it  has  been  the  Chinese 
textbook  of  history  for  the  last  seven  hundred  years. 
His  reputation  rose  to  such  a height  that  he  was  ap- 
pointed by  the  emperor,  much  against  his  will,  gov- 
ernor of  Nanchang,  the  metropolitan  city  of  the 
Kiangsi  Province.  He  made  a brilliant  record  for 
honesty  and  ability.  His  love  of  study  led  him  to  estab- 
lish on  the  lower  brow  of  the  nearest  mountain,  not  far 
from  Killing,  the  White  Deer  Grotto  University  for 
brief  periods  of  rest  and  study  with  his  disciples,  until 
at  his  repeated  and  earnest  requests  he  was  permitted 
to  retire  from  office  and  devote  the  remainder  of  his 
life  to  scholarship.  His  ability  as  a commentator  arose 
from  his  consistency.  Like  Meyer,  the  prince  of  Ger- 
man commentators  on  the  New  Testament,  he  rejected 
on  exegetical  grounds  many  interpretations  of  the 
Classics  favorable  to  his  own  views.  On  the  other 
hand,  unlike  Meyer,  he  clearly  strained  the  meaning 
of  some  of  the  Classics,  or  at  least  neglected  to  bring 
out  their  divergent  meanings  in  order  to  establish  his 
thesis  that  the  Classics  all  taught  one  doctrine.  But 
the  rejection  of  conceited,  shallow,  and  inconsistent 
interpretations  of  the  Classics,  although  these  were  in 
favor  of  his  own  principles;  the  apparently  rugged 
honesty  of  the  scholar  as  well  as  of  the  official;  the 
mental  grasp  with  which  he  seized  the  essential  points 


232  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

in  classical  teaching;  and,  above  all,  the  ability  with 
which  erroneously  but  apparently  without  mental  dis- 
honesty he  developed  a single  consistent  body  of  teach- 
ing out  of  the  Classics,  and  thus  vindicated  their 
infallibility,  gave  him  a tremendous  hold  upon  his 
own  and  subsequent  generations.  Through  his  loy- 
alty to  Confucius  his  interpretations  were  added  to  the 
classical  textbooks  which  constituted  the  curriculum  of 
Chinese  schools;  and  probably  they  have  had  more 
influence  than  the  Classics  themselves  upon  the  minds 
of  the  rising  generations.  The  Trimetrical  Classic,  in 
some  measure  embodying  his  views,  emerged  as  the 
opening  textbook  for  every  Chinese  schoolboy  during 
his  own  day.  Certainly,  next  only  to  Confucius, 
through  his  commentaries  on  the  Classics,  Chu  Hsi 
has  been  the  teacher  of  China  for  more  than  twenty 
generations. 

Unfortunately  for  the  Chinese,  Chu  Hsi’s  philos- 
ophy is  materialistic.  Its  first  postulate  is  that  the 
Grand  Beginning,  or  First  Principle,  is  Force,  without 
intelligence  or  will,  operating  mechanically  by  some 
dynamic  process  which  Chu  Hsi  does  not  explain. 
Second,  Chu  Hsi  holds  to  the  pulsation  or  mechanical 
operation  of  the  First  Principle  from  eternity  in  the 
form  of  Yang  and  Yin.  These  are  the  active  and 
passive,  the  expansive  and  intensive  modes  of  external 
motion.  All  existence,  animate  and  inanimate,  mental 
and  material,  originated  and  yet  operates  through 
this  Yang  and  Yin  process.  Force  produces  the  five 
material  elements:  water,  fire,  wind,  metals,  earth; 
and  also  the  four  seasons  which  are  not  simply  four 
divisions  of  time,  but  four  forms  in  which  the  Tae 


THE  COXFUCIAN  SCHOOL 


233 


Keih,  or  Orig^inal  Force,  acts.  The  original  force  and 
the  five  elements  now  coalesce  and  act  in  two  modes — 
the  heavenly,  or  male,  and  the  earthly,  or  female. 

The  whole  explanation  of  the  origin  of  the  universe 
is  as  clear  or  as  cloudy,  as  complete  or  as  defective, 
as  Haeckel’s  materialistic  evolution  which  it  antici- 
pates by  seven  centuries.  Had  Chu  Hsi  started  with 
the  theistic  assumption  clearly  found  in  the  Shu  Ching, 
he  would  have  developed  the  doctrine  of  theistic  evolu- 
tion or  unfolding,  and  his  speculation  would  have  been 
more  nearly  in  line  with  modern  thought.  But  as 
already  pointed  out,  Confucius  himself,  while  publish- 
ing the  theistic  views  of  the  earlier  writers,  tends  to 
explain  their  references  to  Shang  Ti’s  seeing,  willing, 
acting,  etc.,  as  personifications;  and  he  substitutes  the 
more  impersonal  word  “Heaven”  for  “Shang-Ti.” 
Again,  we  have  shown  that  Confucius,  probably  to 
avoid  superstition,  leaned  strongly  toward  agnosti- 
cism. Hence  Chu  Hsi  carried  the  views  of  his  master 
to  their  logical  conclusion.  Strange  to  say,  while  Chu 
Hsi  rejected  a spiritual  intelligent  creator  of  the  uni- 
verse, he  with  Haeckel  not  only  violated  the  law  of 
causation  by  accepting  intelligent  moral  beings  as  the 
product  of  unintelligent  force,  but  surpassed  Haeckel 
in  inconsistency  by  recognizing  the  existence  of  spirits 
— both  good  and  evil — superior  to  man.  As  Chu  Hsi 
had  no  definite  proof  of  the  existence  of  Eternal  Force, 
but  postulated  its  existence  in  order  to  explain  the  phe- 
nomena which  confronted  him,  he  would  far  better 
have  postulated  with  Kant  an  intelligent  Personal  Cre- 
ator sufficient  to  account  for  the  intelligent  moral  per- 
sons who  confronted  him — beings  whose  existence  de- 


234  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

manded  an  explanation ; and  then  attempted  to  explain 
the  emergence  of  evil  as  due  to  the  abuse  of  freedom 
by  created  free  moral  agents. 

Again,  Chu  Hsi,  Confucius,  Mencius,  and  almost 
all  Chinese  moral  philosophers  hold  to  one  uniform, 
unvarying  system  of  laws,  and  especially  of  moral 
laws,  operating  throughout  the  universe.  This  is  one 
of  their  deepest  and  truest  moral  convictions,  and  we 
think  that  this  system  of  laws  by  supplanting  a Per- 
sonal Creator  may  have  been  a stumbling-block  to 
Chinese  moralists  as  to  many  Western  moralists  and 
scientists.  Just  so  far  as  a human  character  ap- 
proaches perfection,  man’s  acts  move  along  the  lines 
of  eternal  principles  and  approach  the  uniformity  of 
nature.  But  the  absence  of  perfect  human  beings  and 
the  universal  experience  of  willfulness  in  connection 
with  personality  have  led  modern  as  well  as  Chinese 
philosophers  to  misinterpret  the  uniformity  of  nature 
as  an  argument  against  a Personal  Creator,  because 
they  associate  personality  with  caprice  and  blind  will- 
fulness. But  it  is  not  our  function  to  correct  Chu  Hsi, 
but  to  state  his  explanation  of  the  universe.  We  have 
not  found  any  statement  of  Wang  An-shih’s  belief  in 
a personal  God.  But  possibly  by  imitation  of  Mo  Ti, 
who  furnishes  the  germ  of  socialism  in  his  law  of  love, 
Wang  An-shih  was  a theist.  Then  Chu  Hsi,  by  way 
of  reaction  from  Wang  An  shih,  or  else  from  the  orig- 
inal bent  of  his  mind,  pressed  the  agnostic  position  of 
Confucius  further  than  a fair  exegesis  warrants.  Con- 
fucius undoubtedly  believed  in  an  overruling  Provi- 
dence, and  he  had  a clear  belief  in  his  own  call.  All 
this  is  inconsistent  with  a materialistic  conception  of 


THE  CONFUCTAN  SCHOOL  235 

the  universe.  The  Yang  and  the  Yin  principle — the 
point  at  which  all  early  Chinese  philosophy  diverges 
from  theism — is  a divergence  in  the  direction  of  poly- 
theism instead  of  materialistic  monism.  In  our  judg- 
ment, it  was  the  reaction  in  Chinese  thought  from  poly- 
theism to  monism,  and  the  difficulty  of  Chinese  thought 
explaining  such  different  beings  as  they  believed  man 
and  woman  to  be  which  led  thinkers  to  transcend  per- 
sonality entirely,  and  posit  an  original  creative  force 
instead  of  an  original  Creator.  At  any  rate,  Chu  Hsi 
gives  as  the  cause  of  the  universe  an  original  mechan- 
ical force  eternally  in  motion,  resulting  in  some  inex- 
plicable way  in  tbe  appearance  of  matter  of  various 
kinds,  and  then  in  the  emergence  from  matter  of  men 
and  women,  and  finally  in  the  emergence  of  spiritual 
beings  more  powerful  than  men. 

Turning  to  his  ethical  philosophy,  Chu  Hsi  held  that 
the  Sing,  or  nature,  attached  to  man  in  this  process  of 
evolution  is  wholly  good,  while  woman’s  nature  is  at 
best  negative.  Man’s  nature  reveals  itself  in  the  five 
virtues;  Jin,  E,  Li,  Che,  Sin — very  imperfectly  ren- 
dered by  benevolence,  righteousness,  propriety  or  what 
is  becoming  one’s  character,  wisdom,  sincerity,  Man’s 
form  having  been  thus  produced  and  his  consciousness 
having  dawned,  his  originally  pure  nature  is  now  open 
to  good  and  evil  influences.  But  as  inanimate  nature 
is  assumed  to  be  perfect,  the  origin  of  evil  is  over- 
slaughed and  the  existence  of  evil  is  so  far  as  possible 
minimized.  ‘So  far  as  we  can  draw  an}'^  inferences, 
evil  arises  from  the  negative,  Yin,  or  female  principle. 
Chu  Hsi  held  with  Confucius  to  an  absolutely  uniform, 
unswerving  system  of  laws  in  the  moral  universe. 


236  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

However  impersonal  this  force  acting  in  nature, 
Chinese  thinking  is  so  intensely  moral  that  the  Chinese 
believe  human  sin,  and  especially  imperial  sin,  will 
cause  drought  or  plague  or  flood  or  some  other  form 
of  punishment.  So  deep  has  been  this  conviction  that 
the  emperors  of  China  down  to  the  latest  representa- 
tive have  publicly  confessed  their  sins  whenever  dis- 
orders in  nature  or  upheavals  in  society  have  occurred. 

But  Chu  Hsi  held  along  with  Confucius  that  man  at 
heart  and  in  his  essential  nature  is  so  good  that  Holy 
Men,  or  Saints,  appear.  These  are  they  who  instinc- 
tively perceive  the  movements  in  nature  and  in  man 
of  the  First  Principle,  and  spontaneously  obey  all  the 
dictates  of  the  Sing  acting  in  any  one  of  the  five  forms 
of  virtue.  Chu  Hsi,  like  Mencius,  added  Confucius  to 
the  list  of  Holy  Men.  Below  these  he  placed  the  Sages, 
who  gradully  and  by  effort  attain  correct  vision,  the 
chief  of  whom  is  Mencius.  Meadows  sums  up  Chu 
Hsi’s  philosophy  in  the  following  propositions : ( i ) a 
fundamental  unity  underlies  the  phenomenal  variety 
of  the  universe;  (2)  in  the  midst  of  all  change  there 
is  an  eternal  harmonious  order;  (3)  man  at  his  birth 
is  endowed  with  a nature  perfectly  good.  We  sum  up 
Chu  Hsi’s  philosophy  in  four  statements:  first,  the 
infallibility  and  logical  consistency  of  the  Classics; 
second,  materialistic  monism;  third,  an  eternal  moral 
order  operative  in  human  life;  fourth,  the  ability  of 
man  unaided  always  to  recognize  and  observe  this  un- 
changing moral  order.  Our  criticism  of  Chu  Hsi  is 
that  his  interpretation  of  the  Classics  is  incorrect,  that 
his  materialistic  monism  violates  the  law  of  causation 
which  prompts  all  scientific  and  philosophical  inquiry; 


THE  CONFUCIAN  SCHOOL 


237 


but  that  his  maintenance  of  a moral  order  running 
through  the  universe  and  life  is  the  profoundest  truth 
in  ethics ; and  his  view  that  each  man  is  able  in  and  of 
himself  to  keep  the  moral  law  springs  from  a noble 
but  mistaken  idealism.  Meadows  writes  of  him,  “This 
man  is  the  fashioner  of  Chinese  mental  life  as  it  now 
exists,  and  is  in  virtue  of  the  immense  practical  effects 
of  his  labors  fairly  entitled  to  be  considered  one  of  the 
greatest  men  that  history  makes  known  to  us.’ 

The  complete  historical  defeat  of  Wang  An-shih’s 
reforms  in  the  twelfth  century,  and  the  complete  erad- 
ication of  his  philosophy  by  Chu  Hsi  are  all  the  more 
interesting  because  Neo-Confucianists  under  K’ang 
Yu  Wei,  Ch’en  Chuang-cheng,  and  Sun  Yat  Sen  are 
attempting  to  reintroduce  the  reforms  of  Wang  An- 
shih  under  the  cloak  of  the  authority  of  Confucius. 
We  are  not  now  discussing  the  truth  or  falsehood  of 
state  socialism.  If  called  to  express  an  opinion,  while 
rejecting  state  socialism,  we  believe  Mo  Ti’s  doctrine 
of  love  contains  more  truth  and  furnishes  a wiser  rule 
of  conduct  than  Confucianism.  But  the  most  that  can 
be  charged  against  Chu  Hsi  is  that  he  is  more  positive 
than  his  master,  and  carries  the  doctrine  of  Confucius 
to  its  logical  conclusion.  He  does  not,  like  the  Neo- 
Confucianists,  pervert  the  master’s  teachings. 

A slight  acquaintance  with  Chinese  philosophy 
makes  clear  three  conclusions:  first,  its  rich  and  pro- 
found and  in  many  respects  admirable  teachings; 
second,  that  Divine  Providence  has  operated  in 
Chinese  history,  making  Mo  Ti’s  teaching,  Confucian- 
ism, and  in  a lesser  measure  Taoism  and  Buddhism, 


’ Meadows.  T.  T. : The  Chinese  and  Their  Rebellions,  chap,  xviii. 


238  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

a divine  preparation  for  the  gospel,  just  as  God  oper- 
ated in  western  history  making  Greek  philosophy  and 
Roman  government  and  Jewish  law  a divine  prepara- 
tion for  the  Advent ; third,  Confucianism  has  been  effi- 
cient, but  not  sufficient.  With  three  to  four  hundred 
million  people  individually  as  strong  as  are  the 
Chinese,  prostrate  at  the  feet  of  Western  nations,  and 
even  of  Japan,  the  answer  to  the  claim  that  Confucian- 
ism is  sufficient  and  Christianit}'-  not  needed  is  the  one 
word,  “China.”  The  fundamental  weakness  of  Con- 
fucianism from  the  start  has  been  its  lack  of  recogni- 
tion of  a personal  God  and  of  human  sinfulness.  This 
fundamental  lack  was  deepened  and  made  permanent 
by  Chu  Hsi’s  development  of  Confucianism  into  mate- 
rialism. Hence  the  growing  demonstration  of  the  in- 
ability of  Confucianism  to  save  China.  Only  a recog- 
nition of  the  Fatherhood  of  God,  of  the  impotence  of 
man’s  sinful  nature  and  yet  of  its  inherent  right  to 
divine  sonship  by  creation  and  redemption,  and  of  its 
possibilities  through  regeneration  and  the  indwelling 
Spirit,  will  enable  renewed,  or  twice-born  Chinese,  to 
build  up  the  New  China  among  the  nations  of  the 
earth. 

Books  for  Reference 


The  same  as  for  Chapter  VII. 


CHAPTER  X 

RELIGIOUS  LIFE  AND  STRUGGLES 


The  wealth  of  the  religions  literature  is  seen  from 
the  following  data:  De  Groot’  speaks  of  a catalogue 
of  Buddhist  books  compiled  in  A.  D,  518  which  de- 
scribes two  thousand  two  hundred  and  thirteen  books 
on  Buddhism.  We  have  also  the  Fa  Yuen  Choo  Lin,^ 
compiled  in  A.  D.  668,  giving  in  one  hundred  and 
twenty  volumes  a comprehensive  view  of  Buddhism. 
This  is  the  first  religious  encyclopedia  of  which  we 
have  knowledge.  Another  thesaurus  or  encyclopedia 
of  Buddhist  books  embraced  one  hundred  volumes. 

In  addition  to  this  vast  mass  of  Buddhistic  liter- 
ature, a catalogue  of  Taoist  books,  compiled  under  the 
Ming  dynasty,  A.  D.  1368-1644,  required  thirty 
volumes  for  the  titles  and  for  a very  brief  characteriza- 
tion of  the  books.®  This  statement  indicates  that  Tao- 
ism had  at  that  date  perhaps  as  voluminous  a literature 
as  Buddhism.  In  addition  to  this  great  number  of 
Buddhist  and  Taoist  books,  Wylie^  refers  to  a vast 
mass  of  literature  relating  to  Taoism  and  Buddhism 
in  common.  This  literature  describes  innumerable 
gods  and  goddesses  and  good  and  evil  spirits,  and  por- 
trays their  operations  upon  the  earth  and  their  influ- 
ence upon  human  affairs.  It  abounds  in  accounts  of 
miracles  and  in  legends  and  fairy  stories,  and  it  has  a 

■ Groot,  J.  J.  M.,  de:  The  Religion  of  the  Chinese,  p.  179. 

’Wylie,  Alexander:  Notes  on  Chinese  Literature,  p.  207. 

• Ibid.,  p.  224.  ■* *  Ibid.,  p.  224. 

239 


240  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


larger  circulation  among  the  common  people  than  the 
higher  ethical  literature  of  Confucianism.  The  eager- 
ness for  this  literature,  like  the  custom  of  the  Chinese 
of  summoning  Buddhist  and  Taoist  priests  at  death, 
is  due  to  the  fact  that  multitudes  believe  that  these 
books  supply  a knowledge  of  supernatural  beings  and 
of  the  future  life  which  Confucianism  does  not  profess 
to  furnish. 

In  addition  to  the  literature  of  Buddhism  and  Tao- 
ism, and  of  the  two  religions  combined,  there  is  per- 
haps an  even  vaster  mass  of  Confucian  literature,  as 
already  mentioned  in  the  chapters  on  Chinese  philos- 
ophy. This  brief  review  of  the  religious  literature 
confirms  the  judgment  expressed  in  the  chapter  on 
philosophy  that  the  philosophico-theological  literature 
of  China  has  been  greatly  enlarged  and  enriched  by 
Taoist  and  Buddhist  writings.  Surely,  no  one  will 
challenge  the  amount  of  religious  literature  which 
China  has  produced. 

The  three  religions  of  China  are  Taoism,  Confu- 
cianism, and  Buddhism.  But  preceding  all  three  of 
these  religions,  underlying  Taoism,  profoundly  modi- 
fying Buddhism,  and  deeply  affecting  Confucianism, 
is  the  original  religion  of  the  Chinese.  De  Groot 
opens  his  volume  on  The  Religion  of  the  Chinese  with 
the  statement,  “The  primeval  form  of  the  religion  of 
the  Chinese,  and  its  very  core  to  this  day,  is  animism.” 
In  addition  to  the  worship  of  Heaven,  or  God,  by  the 
emperor,  the  animistic  worship  described  by  De  Groot 
was  universally  practiced  at  the  time  of  our  earliest 
knowledge  of  the  Chinese.  The  only  originating  cause 
of  which  man  has  personal  knowledge  is  the  human 


RELIGIOUS  LIFE  AND  STRUGGLES  241 


will ; and  the  Chinese  advanced  by  a natural  process 
of  reasoning  from  their  knowledge  that  through  hu- 
man volition  they  could  effect  changes  in  nature  to 
the  conviction  that  the  larger  changes  which  they 
themselves  could  not  effect  were  due  to  some  higher 
])ersonal  volition.  Hence  they  explained  light  and 
darkness,  cold  and  heat,  the  growth  and  decay  of  vege- 
tation, the  movement  of  clouds  and  streams,  the  noise 
of  thunder,  etc.,  as  due  to  personal  wills.  As  they 
found  part  of  the  operations  of  nature  helpful  to  them- 
selves and  part  harmful,  they  reached  the  conclusion 
that  some  of  these  wills  were  good  and  some  evil.  At 
the  head  of  the  entire  realm  of  wills  they  believed  in  a 
Supreme  Will,  which  had  power  in  the  last  analysis  to 
overrule  and  control  all  subordinate  wills.  Whether 
this  conviction  of  a Supreme  Will  was  the  orisfinal  con- 
viction of  the  Chinese,  and  their  belief  in  subordinate 
wills  was  due  to  degeneration,  as  Dr.  John  Ross®  and 
other  authorities  maintain,  or  whether  De  Groot  is 
right  in  maintaining  that  animism  is  the  original  form 
of  Chinese  worship,  we  have  not  sufficient  data  for 
deciding.  Professor  Giles  says,  “The  earliest  traces 
of  thought  and  practice  in  China  point  to  a simple 
monotheism,”  but  he  adds,  “Side  by  side  with  such 
sacrificial  rites  was  the  worship  of  ancestors,  stretch- 
ing so  far  back  that  its  origin  is  not  discernible.”  ® 
Professor  Giles  thus  admits  that  both  animism  and 
theism  run  back  into  prehistoric  ages ; this  fact  makes 
it  impossible  for  us  to  determine  from  historical  data 
which  is  the  older  form  of  worship.  But  inasmuch  as 


‘Ross,  John:  The  Original  Religion  of  China. 
•Encyclopaedia  Britannica,  vol.  vi.  p.  174,  c. 


242  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


the  worship  of  Heaven,  or  Shang  Ti,  has  been  from  the 
earliest  times  reserved  for  the  emperor  alone,  the  wor- 
ship of  the  people  from  the  earliest  times  to  the  present 
is  animism  and  polytheism.  Inasmuch  as  the  Chinese 
endowed  clouds,  stones,  rivers,  trees,  and  hills  with 
spirits,  they  readily  believed  in  human  spirits  surviving 
the  death  of  the  body.  The  general  conviction  of  the 
Chinese  is  that  each  body  is  endowed  with  three 
spirits,  one  of  which  remains  with  the  body  in  the 
grave,  another  abides  in  the  ancestral  tablet  which  is 
usually  prepared  for  each  deceased  person,  placed  in 
the  family  temple  and  worshiped  by  his  descendants, 
while  the  third  passes  on  to  the  realm  of  spirits  for 
reward  or  punishment  according  to  the  deeds  done  in 
the  body.  The  Chinese  had  experienced  the  activities 
of  the  spirit  in  dreams  while  the  body  was  quiescent. 
As  a result  they  had  a distinct  conviction  of  life  beyond 
the  grave,  and  manifested  this  belief  in  ancestral  wor- 
ship. That  ancestral  worship  was  the  prevalent  form 
of  animism  in  China  from  the  earliest  times  is  shown 
by  the  fact  that  the  minister  of  religion  was  named 
“The  Arranger  of  the  Ancestral  Temple.”  ^ De  Groot 
says  of  this  ancestral  worship,  “It  is  mentioned  in  the 
ancient  books  with  so  much  frequency  that  no  doubt  is 
possible  that  it  was  the  kernel  of  the  religious  life  as 
early  as  the  older  historical  and  even  semihistorical 
times.”  ® 

Springing  out  of  this  strong  belief  in  countless  spir- 
its operating  in  nature,  there  emerged  in  the  earliest 
recorded  life  of  the  Chinese,  the  Wu,  namely,  exorcists. 


’’  Legge,  James:  The  Chinese  Classics. 

* Groot,  J.  J.  M.,  de:  The  Religion  of  the  Chinese,  p.  83. 


RELIGIOUS  LIFE  AND  STRUGGLES  243 

magicians,  soothsayers,  or  priests  of  the  spiritual 
realm.  These  priests  are  male  and  female,  the  female 
perhaps  exercising  larger  influence  than  the  male 
priests;  the  influence  of  these  Wu  continues  down  to 
the  present  time.®  The  Wu  rites  are  wholly  supersti- 
tious incantations,  and  the  Wu,  as  expressing  the  belief 
of  the  Chinese  in  supernatural  bodies,  enter  into  and 
form  a part  of  Taoism,  or  the  earliest  religion  of  the 
Chinese. 

Taoism  is  usually  dated  from  the  life  of  its  so-called 
founder,  Lao  Tzu,  who  was  born  in  B.  C.  604.  As 
already  described  in  Chapter  VII  on  Chinese  philos- 
ophy, Lao  Tzu’s  philosophy  was  idealistic,  mystical, 
and  spiritual.  It  was  lofty,  unselfish,  and  moral.  But 
after  Lao  Tzu’s  mysterious  disappearance  the  ancient 
Wuists  fixed  upon  his  name  as  their  High  Priest,  or  as 
the  divine  incarnation  of  their  doctrine  of  supernatural 
forces  operating  through  nature;  and  Lao  Tzu’s 
lofty  teachings  were  transformed  into  a degrading 
alchemy.  As  a proof  that  the  superstition  which  now 
passes  under  the  name  of  Taoism  is  earlier  than  Lao 
Tzu’s  time,  we  have  the  record  that  temples  were 
erected  for  Taoist  worship  between  B.  C.  1000  and 
900.^®  The  existence  of  these  temples  three  or  four 
hundred  years  before  the  birth  of  Lao  Tzu  furnishes 
historical  proof  that  Taoism  is  not  the  product  of  Lao 
Tzu  but  is  an  older  superstition  which  took  advantage 
of  his  name  and  transformed  his  vague,  pantheistic 
speculations  into  superstitious  practices.  The  use  of 
idols  in  connection  with  Wu  worship,  and  the  chanting 


•Wemer,  E.  T.  C.:  Descriptive  Sociology  of  the  Chinese,  Table  II.  col.  lo. 
“ Ibid. 


244  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


and  dancing  exorcists  are  first  reported  B,  C.  1197- 
1194.  Later,  the  transformation  of  Lao  Tzu’s  phi- 
losophy into  Taoism  is  associated  with  the  name  of 
Chang  Tao  Ling.“  He  is  said  to  have  been  born  A.  D. 
34  and  to  have  been  a descendant  of  Chang  Liang,  one 
of  the  three  heroes  who  helped  found  the  Han  dynasty. 
On  the  enthronement  of  the  first  Han  emperor  Chang 
Liang  refused  all  political  or  judicial  offices  and  gave 
himself  up  to  the  search  after  the  elixir  of  immortality. 
He  failed  to  find  this  treasure  and  died.  But  Chang 
Tao  Ling  is  reported  finally  to  have  discovered  the 
elixir  of  life  and  through  it  to  have  become  immortal 
and  ascended  on  high.  On  his  translation  he  be- 
queathed the  secret  to  his  son,  and  from  that  day  to  this 
Chang  Tao  Ling’s  family  has  furnished  the  patriarchs 
or  popes  of  Taoism.  Chang  Tao  Ling  was  by  imperial 
edict  deified  in  A.  D.  1116,  as  the  “Pearly  Emperor,” 
and  is  frequently,  if  not  usually,  worshiped  by  the  Tao- 
ists  as  Shang  Ti,  or  the  true  God.  Taoism  has  con- 
tinued as  a low  superstitious  form  of  religion  whose 
baleful  influence  upon  the  Chinese  race  has  yet  to  be 
written. 

Confucianism  dates  from  Confucius,  B.  C.  551-478. 
It  consisted  originally  and  in  the  main  consists  to-day 
of  ethical  teaching.  With  its  practical  idealism,  Con- 
fucianism leans  so  far  toward  agnosticism  in  regard 
to  God  and  the  future  life  that  the  teaching  of  Con- 
fucius cannot  properly  be  called  a religion.  But 
soon  after  his  death  Confucius  was  honored  not  only 
with  the  worship  which  every  father  may  expect  from 
a son,  but  also  with  the  worship  of  his  disciples,  and  the 


Soothill,  W.  E.:  The  Three  Religions  of  the  Chinese,  p.  82. 


RELIGIOUS  LIFE  AND  STRUGGLES  245 

reputation  which  he  enjoyed  during  his  life  soon  led 
to  his  worship  throughout  his  native  state  of  Lu.  By 
A.  D.  57  the  worship  of  Confucius  had  spread  through- 
out the  nation.^^  Hence  from  that  time  to  the  pres- 
ent Confucianism  has  been  regarded  not  only  as  an 
ethical  system  influencing  the  conduct  of  its  followers, 
but  as  a religious  system  demanding  worship  upon 
their  part.  It  has  never  lost  its  ethical  teaching, 
though  it  has  often  been  devoid  not  only  of  all  power 
to  transform  life  after  the  ideals  of  Confucius,  but  of 
any  serious  effort  upon  the  part  of  its  followers  to 
mold  their  lives  after  the  teachings  of  their  master. 

Buddhism  was  brought  to  China  two  hundred  and 
fifty  years  before  Christ^®  by  eighteen  Buddhist  mis- 
sionaries, though  reports  of  it  had  reached  China  at 
an  earlier  date.  The  real  Buddhistic  evangelization 
of  China  commenced  in  A.  D.  148  on  the  arrival  of  the 
second  group  of  missionaries  from  India.**  Werner 
says  that  by  A.  D.  400  nine  tenths  of  the  householders 
had  accepted  Buddhism.*®  In  order  to  understand 
the  influence  of  Buddhism  upon  China  we  must 
remember  the  transformation  which  took  place  in 
the  original  Buddhism  about  the  time  of  its  intro- 
duction into  China.  Buddhism  is  divided  into  two 
schools,  namely,  the  Hinayana  and  the  Mahayana 
schools.  The  Hinayana  school  is  largely  agnostic  in 
regard  to  God  and  teaches  that  man  must  remain 
wholly  self-centered  in  his  efforts  after  spiritual  per- 

**  Werner,  E.  T.  C.:  Descriptive  Sociology  of  the  Chinese,  p.  120,  col.  3; 
compare  Legge,  James:  The  Chinese  Classics,  vol.  i.  Prolegomena,  91,  2. 

“ Eitel,  E.  J.:  Handbook  of  Chinese  Buddhism,  p.  21. 

**  Werner,  E.  T.  C.:  Descriptive  Sociology  of  the  Chinese,  p.  120,  col.  2. 

“ Ibid.,  p.  I2I,  col.  3. 


246  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

fection.  Dr.  Timothy  Richard^®  tells  us  that  for  the 
first  four  hundred  years  after  Buddha’s  death  the 
Hinayana  school  of  Buddhism  prevailed  and  that  the 
Mahayana  school  was  unknown.  Dr.  Richard  adds 
that  after  some  five  hundred  years  of  existence  Bud- 
dhism began  to  lose  its  hold  upon  India.  This  decay 
of  Hinayana  Buddhism  in  India  is  well  known  and  led 
to  the  removal  of  the  Buddhist  patriarchate  from  India 
to  China  in  A.  D.  520.^^ 

The  view  of  Dr.  Richard  and  of  Dr.  Lloyd,  of  Japan, 
of  the  relation  between  Buddhism  and  Christianity,  is 
based  upon  the  remarkable  resemblances  between,  not 
the  original  Hinayana  Buddhism  and  Roman  Catholic 
Christianity,  but  between  the  Mahayana  Buddhism 
and  Roman  Catholic  rites.  “The  cross,  the  miter,  the 
dalmatica,  the  cope  which  the  lamas  wear  on  their 
journeys  or  when  performing  some  ceremony  out  of 
the  temple,  the  service  with  double  choirs,  the  psalm- 
ody, the  exorcisms,  the  censer  suspended  from  five 
chains,  . . . the  benediction  given  by  extending  the 
right  hand  over  the  heads  of  the  faithful ; the  rosary, 
ecclesiastical  celibacy,  spiritual  retirement,  worship 
of  the  saints;  the  fasts,  processions,  litanies,  and 
holy  water — all  these  are  analogies  between  ourselves 
and  the  Buddhists.”^*  The  institution  of  nuns,  as  well 
as  religious  orders  for  men,  and  masses  for  the  dead, 
are  common  to  both  faiths.  Both  faiths  teach  the  doc- 
trine of  purgatory  from  which  souls  can  be  released 
by  the  prayers  of  the  priests.  Both  conduct  their  ser- 

**  Richard,  Timothy;  The  New  Testament  of  Higher  Buddhism,  p.  40. 

Encyclopjedia  Britannica,  vol.  vi,  p.  175. 

‘•Hue,  L'Abb6  E.  R.:  Travels  in  Tartary,  Thibet,  and  China  During  the 
Years  1844-5-6.  Translated  by  W.  Hazlitt,  vol.  ii,  p.  50. 


RELIGIOUS  LIFE  AND  STRUGGLES  247 


vices  in  a dead  language,  and  both  claim  the  power 
to  work  miracles.  The  doctrine  of  perpetual  virginity 
of  Maya,  the  mother  of  Sakyamuni,  is  taught  by  the 
Mongol  Buddhists,  very  similar  to  the  teaching  con- 
cerning Mary  by  the  Roman  Catholics ; and  the  lamas 
practice  a form  of  infant  baptism  in  which  the  child  is 
dipped  three  times  under  the  water.^”  Possibly  the 
data  are  not  sufficient  for  a demonstration  of  the  rise 
of  Mahayana  Buddhism  from  early  Christianity. 
Moreover,  these  half-pagan  rites  were  developed  both 
in  Christianity  and  in  Buddhism  at  a far  later  date 
than  the  first  centuries  of  Christianity.  Neverthe- 
less, the  data  seem  sufficient  to  show  the  contact  of 
Buddhism  with  early  Christianity.  Possibly  the 
impulse  and  the  spiritual  light  which  led  Maming, 
or  Ashvagosha,  to  write  at  the  close  of  the  first 
century  of  the  Christian  era  the  volume  called  Ta 
Ching  Ki  Shin  Lun,  translated  by  Dr.  Richard 
under  the  title  The  Awakening  of  Faith,  may  have 
come  from  Christianity.  At  any  rate,  whatever  its 
origin,  Mahayana  Buddhism  adds  to  the  earlier  form 
of  Buddhism  the  distinctly  theistic  and  Christian  doc- 
trine of  help  from  God  through  repentance  and  prayer, 
of  communion  with  God,  and  of  the  possibility  of  men 
partaking  of  the  nature  of  the  Divine.^®  All  the  Bud- 
dhist temples  in  Japan  to-day  apparently  give  the 
Mahayana  form  of  Buddhism  a place  of  honor, while 
seventeen  thousand  out  of  the  twenty-six  thousand 
monks  and  nuns  accept  the  Mahayana  form.^^  What- 
ever its  origin,  De  Groot  holds  that  this  book,  trans- 

'•WilUams,  S.  Wells:  The  Middle  Kingdom,  vol.  ii,  p.  231,  232. 

* Richard,  Timothy:  The  New  Testament  of  Higher  Buddhism,  pp.  2,  26, 
37i  48.  **  Ibid.,  p.  30.  “ Ibid.,  p.  37, 


248  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


lated  by  Dr.  Richard  under  the  title  The  Awakening  of 
Faith,  “certainly  deserves  to  be  called  the  most  impor- 
tant of  the  sacred  books  of  the  East,  . . . the  might- 
iest instrument  for  the  amelioration  of  customs  and 
the  mitigation  of  cruelty  in  Asia.”^^ 

De  Groot  again  says,  “Buddhism  represents  the 
highest  stage  of  devotion  and  piety  to  which,  to  this 
day,  man  in  East  Asia  has  been  able  to  raise  him- 
self.”^^  No  one  questions  the  superiority  of  the  teach- 
ings of  Mahayana  Buddhism  to  the  superstitious  doc- 
trines of  Taoism.  Drs.  De  Groot,  Richard,  and  Lloyd 
are  right  in  finding  in  this  Mahayana  teaching  some 
of  the  true  light  which  lighteth  every  man  coming  into 
the  world,  and  Richard  and  Lloyd  are  right  in  tracing 
the  Christian  teachings  found  in  Buddhism  back  to 
Christianity.  But  the  majority  of  students  of  Bud- 
dhism do  not  accept  the  high  estimate  placed  upon  its 
teachings  and  influence  by  De  Groot  and  in  some  mea- 
sure by  Dr.  Richard.  On  the  contrary,  a fair  study 
of  Buddhism  as  it  exists  at  the  present  time  in  China, 
and  a fair  estimate  of  its  influence,  so  far  as  that  esti- 
mate can  be  gained  from  Chinese  history,  reveal  the 
fact  that  while  a few  Buddhist  priests  have  succeeded 
in  obtaining  a reasonable  degree  of  self-mastery  by 
giving  themselves  to  earnest  study,  to  literature,  and 
to  lives  of  service,  nevertheless  the  overwhelming  mass 
of  priests  and  nuns  have  degraded  Buddhism  into  a 
system  of  gross  superstition  and  have  lived  upon  the 
fears  of  the  people.  Paul  Krantz,  basing  his  figures 
upon  the  calculations  of  Dr.  Ernest  Faber  and  Pastor 


“ Groot,  J.  J.  M.,  de:  The  Religion  of  the  Chinese,  p.  188. 
^ Ibid.,  p.  182. 


RELIGIOUS  LIFE  AND  STRUGGLES  249 


Yen,  and  of  the  statements  made  at  the  missionary 
conference  in  Shanghai  in  1890,  estimates  that  the 
total  expenditures  of  the  Chinese  through  superstitious 
practices,  prompted  and  directed  by  Taoists  and  Bud- 
dhists, reach  the  enormous  sum  of  over  $300,000,000, 
gold,  a year.^*^  W'hether  the  actual  expenditures  are 
more  or  less  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  aggre- 
gate expenditures  are  enormous,  and  that  they  are 
devoted  wholly  to  the  repose  of  the  dead,  and  not  used 
at  all  for  the  benefit  of  the  living.  Buddhism  has  again 
and  again  been  partially  purified  by  the  severe 
persecutions  to  which  it  has  been  subjected  in  the 
Chinese  empire;  and  in  their  persecutions  the  Bud- 
dhists, like  all  human  beings,  have  relied  upon  some 
supernatural  power  for  direction  and  help.  But,  on 
the  whole,  our  study  of  Buddhism  upon  the  ground  and 
such  reports  of  it  as  are  furnished  by  a large  number 
of  far  more  competent  observers,  lead  to  the  conviction 
that  the  Mahayana  doctrine  has  been  unable  to  free 
Buddhism  from  the  superstition  and  magic  into  which 
it  has  fallen  through  its  attempts  to  compete  with  Tao- 
ism for  the  support  of  the  ignorant  masses.  The 
temple  at  Taianfu,  in  which  the  incantations  were  per- 
formed which  furnished  the  religious  impulse  for  the 
Boxer  Uprising,  is  a Buddhist  temple. 

Religious  Struggles  in  China.  Foreign  resi- 
dents of  China  are  aware  of  the  fact  that  every  Chi- 
nese professes  to  be  a follower  of  Confucius.  At  the 
same  time,  as  death  approaches,  almost  every  Chinese 
family  calls  in  the  Buddhist  or  Taoist  priest — and  the 


“ Faber,  Ernst:  Chronological  Handbook  of  the  History  of  China,  p.  vi. 


250  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

family  seems  entirely  indifferent  as  to  whether  a 
priest  is  a Buddhist  or  Taoist — to  exercise  his  magic 
for  the  prolongation  of  life,  or  to  select  the  burial  site 
for  the  repose  of  the  spirit  of  the  dead.  Hence  the 
general  conviction  has  prevailed  that  Confucianism, 
Buddhism,  and  Taoism  have  throughout  their  history  > 
maintained  the  friendliest  relations  with  each  other. 

Students  of  China  are  indebted  to  De  Groot’s  two 

volumes  on  Sectarianism  and  Religious  Persecution 

° . .1 
m China  more  than  to  all  other  sources  of  information  i 

for  the  revelation  of  the  hostility  which  has  been  main- 
tained for  centuries  by  Confucianist  officials  toward 
the  Buddhists  and  the  Taoists;  and  De  Groot’s  views 
are  amply  confirmed  by  other  historians.  Long- 
continued  and  terrible  persecutions  on  the  one  side,  and 
frequent  uprisings  upon  the  other,  have  stained  the 
religious  and  political  history  of  China.  A close  study 
of  the  Chinese  and  their  history  shows  the  reason  for  | 
this  religious  conflict.  From  the  dawn  of  Chinese  ‘ 
history  the  emperor  has  assumed  to  be  the  religious  as 
well  as  the  political  head  of  the  nation.  Like  the  Ro- 
man emperors,  he  has  been  the  Pontifex  Maximus,  or 
“Lord  of  the  Spirits,”^®  as  well  as  the  emperor.  Prob- 
ably as  early  as  B.  C.  2000,  certainly  before  B.  C. 

1 100,  the  emperors  of  China  reserved  to  themselves  the 
right  of  worshiping  Heaven. The  restriction  of  this 
worship  to  a single  person  and  a single  place  in  the 
empire,  and  the  infliction  of  immediate  death  upon  any 

Legge,  James:  The  Chinese  Classics,  vol.  iii,  part  i,  p.  215,  note.  Shi 
Ching,  vol.  iv,  part  iii,  bk.  ii,  ode  viii,  stanza  3. 

Werner,  E.  T.  C.:  Descriptive  Sociology  of  the  Chinese,  Table  I,  col.  10; 
compare  Legge,  James:  The  Chinese  Classics,  vol.  iii,  part  i.  Prolegomena, 
p.  194. 


i 


RELIGIOUS  LIFE  AND  STRUGGLES  251 


person  aside  from  the  emperor  assuming  to  worship 
at  the  temple,  may  account  for  the  loss  of  monotheistic 
worship,  if,  according  to  Dr.  Ross’s  theory,  that  was 
the  original  worship  of  the  Chinese.  The  emperors 
of  China  have  gone  farther  than  the  Roman  emperors 
in  their  assumption  of  supreme  spiritual  as  well  as 
political  authority.  In  most  cases  the  Roman  em- 
peror was  not  deified  until  after  his  death.  But  from 
the  time  when  “the  memory  of  man  runneth  not  to  the 
contrary,”  the  Chinese  emperor  has  assumed  to  be 
literally  the  Son  of  Heaven,  or  the  Son  of  God.  Lie 
has  usurped  the  place  which  W’estern  nations  assign 
to  Christ,  and  has  sought  to  act  as  the  mediator  be- 
tween God  and  man.  This  is  shown  by  his  title.  Son 
of  Heaven,  which  means  in  plain  English  Son  of  God. 
It  is  also  shown  by  the  fact  that  every  Chinese  em- 
peror recognized  any  failure  in  crops,  any  plague,  or 
famine  or  flood  as  demanding  the  immediate  discharge 
of  some  mediatorial  function  upon  his  part,  namely, 
the  confession  of  sin,  the  ofifering  of  sacrifice,  and  the 
putting  forth  of  every  effort  to  reconcile  God  with  him- 
self as  his  son  and  with  the  people  of  his  empire.  The 
imperial  authorities  have  not  been  unmindful  of  the 
tremendous  additional  power  which  this  assumption  of 
spiritual  in  addition  to  political  authority  has  given 
them.  Hence  one  can  readily  understand  on  political 
grounds  why  they  have  determined  to  maintain  at  all 
hazards  their  spiritual  as  well  as  their  political 
authority. 

On  the  other  hand,  one  can  well  understand  how  re- 
ligious leaders,  with  the  large  influence  which  their 
claims  of  supernatural  power  give  them,  not  only  over 


252  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

the  life  that  now  is  but  also  over  the  life  that  is  to 
come,  can  never  rest  in  subjection  to  any  temporal 
authority.  It  has  seemed  to  most  leaders  of  religions 
claiming  external  authority  that  the  natural  order  is 
rather  the  subjection  of  the  political  authority  of  a 
nation  to  its  spiritual  powers.  In  other  words,  not  the 
emperor  but  the  “Pope,”  that  is  to  say,  the  highest 
religious  authority,  is  the  vicegerent  of  God,  the  repre- 
sentative and  wielder  of  the  higher  and  permanent 
powers  of  the  universe,  and  as  such  he  deserves  to  be, 
and,  in  the  right  order  of  the  universe,  is,  destined  to 
be  the  head  of  all  earthly  authority.  This  conflict 
which  has  arisen  in  the  history  of  Judea,  of  Rome, 
and  of  the  Christian  nations,  has  never  been  absent 
from  China.  Hence  the  inevitable  conflict  between  the 
two  realms  of  authority  in  China. 

Confucianism  has  been  the  state  religion  of  China 
substantially  from  the  death  of  its  founder  down  to  the 
present  time,  because  Confucius,  as  a moral  teacher, 
defined  as  the  first  and  most  important  relation  of  earth 
that  between  emperor  and  people.  This  political  rela- 
tion rested  back  upon  the  theological  view  that  the 
emperor  was  the  Son  of  Pleaven,  and  as  Son  of  Heaven 
the  supreme  religious  as  well  as  political  head  of  the 
nation.  Hence  the  teachings  of  the  Classics  as  edited 
by  Confucius  are  favorable  to  the  union  of  the  religious 
with  the  political  authority  of  the  state.  This  led  early 
in  Chinese  history  to  the  establishment  of  a state  re- 
ligion, divergence  from  which  was  heresy.  De  Groot 
writes:  “Chinese  philosophy  and  politics  both  abso- 

lutely forbid  freedom  of  religion  and  religious  doc- 
trines. The  reason  why  they  do  so  is  because  un- 


RELTGTOUS  LIFE  AND  STRUGGLES  253 


orthodox  teachings  are  opposed  to  the  classical  teach- 
ings of  the  ancients.  Confucius  condemned  all  that 
was  not  in  conformity  with  the  one  infallible  doctrine 
embodied  in  the  counsels  of  Yii  the  Great,  namely, 
‘Hesitate  not  to  put  away  all  that  is  hsieh’  (i.  c.  not 
correct).  Vii  said,  ‘The  practice  of  that  which  swerves 
from  the  orthodox,  O what  harm  it  causes!’  It  was 
Mencius,  however,  who  first  both  by  word  and  ex- 
ample laid  upon  all  future  ages  the  duty  of  persecuting 
heresy.  He  violently  attacked  all  heretics.  . . . Ac- 
cording to  him,  heresy  is  ‘everything  which  diverges 
from  the  teachings  of  the  Sages  and  in  particular  from 
three  among  them,’  viz.,  Yii,  Cheu  Kung  (Chow 
Kung),  and  Confucius.  It  is  certain  that  to  the  Chi- 
nese the  true  doctrine  has  always  been  exactly  what 
was  deemed  written  or  edited  by  that  triad.  Alencius 
regarded  heresies  as  dangerous  to  the  state  and  ‘crit- 
icisms inevitably  end  in  heresies.’ 

On  the  other  side,  the  strength  of  the  Buddhist 
movement  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  soon  after  the  re- 
turn of  Fa  Hsien,  A.  D.  414,  bringing  more  sacred 
books  from  India,  “nine  tenths  of  the  households  had 
embraced  the  doctrine,”^'*  by  the  fact  that  under  Em- 
peror Wen  Tsung,  of  the  Yuan  dynasty,  1280-1368, 
the  priests  were  allowed  to  wear  the  imperial  yellow, 
and  that  they  have  been  permitted  to  wear  it  until  the 
present  day.®”  We  have  an  even  stronger  illustration 
of  the  political  power  of  Buddhism  in  the  fact  that  the 
followers  of  the  Buddhist  Messiah,  Ming  Shih,  grew 

* Groot,  J.  J.  M.,  de:  Sectarianism  and  Religious  Persecution  in  China, 
vol.  i,  pp.  II,  12.  See  the  entire  chapter. 

^Werner,  E.  T.  C.:  Descriptive  Sociology  of  the  Chinese,  p.  121,  col.  3. 

“ Ibid.,  p.  126,  col.  I. 


254  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

so  strong  that  they  overthrew  the  legal  emperor  and 
placed  a fellow  Buddhist  on  the  throne.®^ 

At  any  rate,  the  interference  of  religious  orders 
with  the  state  was  sufficient  to  lead  to  many  imperial 
decrees  proscribing  sectarianism  by  the  government.^^ 
So  De  GrooP^  maintains  that  the  bloody  rebellions 
marking  the  last  eighty  years  of  the  reign  of  the 
Mings,  and  their  downfall  in  1644,  were  caused  by 
severe  measures  against  Buddhism,  and  that  the  White 
Lotus  sect  of  Buddhists  played  a conspicuous  part  in 
the  downfall  of  the  dynasty.  He  writes:  “Perhaps 
Buddhism  was  the  chief  agent  in  that  revolution  which 
set  the  Manchu  house  upon  the  throne.  By  its  ragings 
against  a religion  of  peace  the  Ming  dynasty  dug  its 
own  grave.”^^  Again,  all  historians  recognize  the 
frightful  wars  of  a religio-political  nature  waged  by 
the  Chinese  government  and  the  secret  societies  in  the 
eighteenth  and  nineteenth  centuries.  Faber  writes: 
“The  struggle  from  1795  to  1803  originated  in  a re- 
bellion of  the  White  Lily  Society  composed  of  Bud- 
dhists. It  broke  out  in  Hupeh,  and  within  four  months 
the  viceroy  had  decapitated  between  twenty  and  thirty 
thousand  people.  This  cruelty  made  the  Buddhists 
desperate,  and  the  rebellion  spread  through  six  prov- 
inces, costing  the  government  more  than  $150,000,000, 
gold,  and  countless  lives  for  its  suppression.”®®  Dr. 
Llawks-Pott  says:  “The  leaders  of  the  White  Lily 

Society,  taking  advantage  of  the  appearance  of  a 

’’Werner,  E.  T.  C.:  Descriptive  Sociology  of  the  Chinese,  p.  126,  col.  2; 
compare  Groot,  J.  J.  M.,  de:  Sectarianism  and  Religious  Persecution  in  China, 
vol.  i,  p.  165. 

” Groot,  J.  J.  M.,  de:  Sectarianism  and  Religious  Persecution  in  China, 
vol.  i.  pp.  154-61.  ” Ibid.  Ibid.,  vol.  i,  pp.  89-91. 

” Faber,  Ernst:  Chronological  Handbook  of  the  History  of  China,  p.  239. 


RELIGIOUS  LIFE  AND  STRUGGLES  255 

comet,  raised  the  standard  of  revolt.  The  main  object 
of  the  society  was  the  extermination  of  the  dynasty. 
. . . The  rebellion  was  finally  subdued,  but  at  an 

enormous  cost  of  lives  and  money.”^® 

MacGowan  writes:  “Hardly  had  Kia  King  got 

seated  on  the  throne,  however,  before  a rebellion  broke 
out  which  gradually  spread  through  six  of  the  richest 
provinces  of  China  and  for  nine  years  caused  infinite 
sorrow  and  distress.  A secret  society,  named  the 
‘White  Lily,’  and  composed  mainly  of  Buddhists,  was 
the  cause  of  this.  . . . The  whole  power  of  the  em- 
pire was  engaged  in  a life-and-death  struggle  with 
it.”®^  \^'erner^*  points  out  the  fact  that  between  forty 
and  fifty  persecutions  and  religio-political  struggles 
took  place  between  1746  and  1850.  These  struggles 
occurred  in  almost  every  part  of  China.  Werner  spe- 
cifically mentions  Anhwei,  Chihli,  Formosa,  Fukien, 
Honan,  Hunan,  Hupeh,  Kiangsi,  Kiangsu,  Kwangsi, 
Kwantung,  Manchuria,  Shantung,  Shansi,  Szechwan, 
and  Turkestan  as  regions  through  which  these  strug- 
gles raged,  and  he  speaks  of  certain  areas  as  being 
“drenched  with  blood.”  It  is  well  known  that  in  addi- 
tion to  the  wars  with  the  Buddhists,  there  were  two 
noted  Mohammedan  uprisings,  one  in  Yunnan, 
1855-73,  one  in  Kansu,  1860-73,  lo  overthrow 
the  Manchu  dynasty  and  establish  IMohammedan  rule, 
at  least  over  western  China.  Paul  Kranz®®  speaks  of 
over  fifty  rebellions  upon  a large  scale  and  of  almost 

“ Hawks-Pott,  F.  L.:  A Sketch  of  Chinese  History,  pp.  109-110. 

MacGowan,  John:  A History  of  China,  pp.  553,  554. 

“Werner,  E.  T.  C.:  Descriptive  Sociology  of  the  Chinese,  pp.  132,  133. 

’’Faber,  Ernst:  Chronological  Handbook  of  the  History  of  China,  Preface, 


256  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

annual  rebellions  upon  a small  scale  breaking  out  in 
China  within  the  last  two  thousand  years,  aggregating 
a loss  of  life  of  hundreds  of  millions;  he  recognizes 
too  that  these  struggles  were  due  to  the  determination 
of  the  Confucianists  to  maintain  religious  as  well  as 
political  authority  in  their  own  hands. 

Again,  everyone  recognizes  the  Taiping  rebellion 
as  a religio-political  war.  It  was  simply  another  phase 
of  the  old  struggle  between  religious  ambition  upon  the 
one  side  and  political  ambition  upon  the  other  side,  for 
no  less  a prize  than  the  throne  of  China  with  its  rule 
of  three  to  four  hundred  millions  of  people.  Accord- 
ing to  Williams’s  estimate,  this  rebellion  entailed  a loss 
by  death,  plague,  and  famine  of  twenty  million  lives. 
According  to  Parker,  the  loss  of  life  aggregated  over 
forty  million.  These  indisputable  facts  go  to  show  that 
the  religious  history  of  China  has  been  far  from  the 
peaceful,  quiet,  unconcerned,  half-secular  life  por- 
trayed by  most  Western  writers.  Possibly  the  Chinese 
themselves  have  learned  the  lesson  which  this  long  and 
bitter  experience  teaches ; and  the  present  Chinese  au- 
thorities have  accepted  the  solution  of  the  problem 
reached  in  Western  nations,  namely,  the  separation 
of  church  and  state  with  spiritual  liberty  for  the  people 
as  long  as  they  maintain  their  political  allegiance  to 
the  ruling  power.  Our  own  view  is  that  De  Groot  lays 
too  much  stress  upon  the  religious  causes  of  these 
wars.  In  our  judgment,  these  uprisings  were  due  to 
three  causes:  (i)  religion;  (2)  acts  of  spoliation  on 
the  part  of  the  ruler;  (3)  opposition  to  foreign  rulers 
of  the  Mongol  and  the  Manchu  dynasties.  These  three 
factors  combined  were  the  cause  of  most  of  these  wars. 


RELIGIOUS  LIFE  AND  STRUGGLES  257 


But  that  the  religious  element  was  predominant  is 
shown  in  the  fact  that  most  of  the  wars  were  started 
by  a secret  religious  society. 

Summary : Turning  now  to  the  evil  and  the  good  in 
the  religious  life  of  the  Chinese,  it  is  easy  for  foreign- 
ers to  look  upon  the  dark  side  and  to  point  out  religious 
faults. 

First,  Confucianism  as  the  state  religion  displayed 
a lack  of  knowledge  of  the  living  God.  If  the  early 
Chinese  possessed  this  knowledge  their  rulers  deprived 
them  of  it  in  order  that  they  might  become  the  medi- 
ators between  God  and  men.  Had  Confucius,  instead 
of  assuming  an  agnostic  position,  emphasized  the 
recognition  of  a personal  and  a righteous  God,  both  of 
which  truths  are  in  some  measure  found  in  the  Shih 
Ching  and  the  Shu  Ching,  he  would  have  contributed 
immensely  to  the  spiritual  life  of  the  nation  and  to  the 
progress  of  his  race. 

Second,  The  agnosticism  of  Confucius  in  regard  to 
God  was  matched  by  his  ignorance  of  the  nature  of 
man.  He  not  only  assumed  that  men  were  and  must 
remain  in  ignorance  of  God,  but  that  human  nature 
could  be  satisfied  without  spiritual  light  and  life  and 
power.  Mencius  and  Chu  Hsi,  and  Confucius  himself, 
showed  an  utter  lack  of  any  true  conception  of  the 
nature  of  sin  and  of  its  demoralizing  effects  upon 
man.  To  students  their  lack  of  true  insight  into 
human  nature  is  more  surprising  than  their  lack  of 
knowledge  of  the  divine  nature,  because  they  were  in 
conscious  and  constant  contact  with  men,  and  with 
an  open  vision  they  must  have  recognized  the  weakness 
and  sinfulness  of  human  nature. 


258  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


Third,  Confucianism  betrayed  a lack  of  high  and 
lofty  conceptions  of  spiritual  beings  and  of  a future 
life.  Indeed,  Confucianism  in  daily  practice  degen- 
erated to  such  an  extent  that  millions  of  its  followers 
made  sacrifices  to  evil  rather  than  to  good  spirits. 
These  were  made  on  the  low  ground  that  the  good 
spirits  will  do  no  harm,  whether  placated  or  not,  while 
the  evil  spirits  must  receive  abundant  sacrifices  in 
order  to  turn  them  from  their  evil  purposes. 

Turning  to  Taoism : First,  there  has  been  through- 
out the  years  a lack  of  any  true  conception  of  a per- 
sonal God.  Second,  Taoism  has  been  pessimistic  in 
its  prevailing  philosophy  from  the  beginning  of  its  his- 
tory down  to  the  present  time.  Third,  there  was  an 
undue  emphasis  of  fate  or  of  predestination  by  Chuang 
Tzu  and  by  Lao  Tzu  himself,  thus  robbing  the  race 
of  moral  initiative.  Fourth,  as  already  pointed  out, 
Taoism  was  originally  a system  of  superstition  and 
magic  from  the  degrading  influence  of  which  the 
teachings  of  Lao  Tzu  were  powerless  to  deliver  it. 

Turning  to  Buddhism:  First,  in  its  original  form 

as  presented  by  Gotama"*"  it  was  without  God  and 
without  hope  in  the  world.  Second,  its  conception  of 
life  was  so  pessimistic  that  the  highest  desire  of  its 
followers  was  for  Nirvana — endless  sleep  or  practi- 
cal annihilation  of  the  soul.  As  a consequence,  the 
Hinayana,  or  original  form  of  Buddhism,  after  three 
or  four  centuries  began  losing  its  hold  upon  India  and 
made  little  progress  in  China  until  it  was  completely 
transformed.  Third,  Ashvagosha’s  profound  modifi- 
cation of  Buddhism  is  possibly  due  to  the  early  influ- 


“ Encyclopaedia  Britannica,  vol.  iv,  p.  737,  d. 


RELIGIOUS  LIFE  AND  STRUGGLES  259 

ence  of  Christianity,  ^^'e  are  clear  in  our  view  that 
later  modifications  of  Buddhism  were  due  to  Roman 
Catholic  Christianity.  But  whether  Christianity  was 
the  cause  or  one  of  the  causes  of  the  Mahayana  form 
of  Buddhism,  whether  the  “Great  Path”  was  due  to 
Christianity  or  not,  all  must  recognize  that  later 
Buddhism  largely  lost  its  theistic  and  redemptive 
character  and  sank  back  into  the  superstitions  of  its 
Taoist  congener.  If  the  Mahayana  Buddhists  dis- 
covered the  source  of  life  and  light  in  Christianity,  it  is 
difficult  to  explain  why  Christianity  did  not  work  a 
deeper  and  more  long-continued  change  among  them. 
On  the  other  hand,  we  must  recognize  that  Christianity 
in  its  Western  forms  has  been  repeatedly  corrupted  by 
its  followers,  that  the  very  nature  of  a spiritual  re- 
ligion renders  uncertain  its  transmission  from  genera- 
tion to  generation,  because  it  must  be  deliberately  ac- 
cepted by  each  generation  and  by  each  individual  in 
order  to  accomplish  its  spiritual  work  in  the  soul. 
Hence,  whether  Mahayana  Buddhism  was  at  one  time 
reinforced  by  Christianity  or  not,  all  must  recognize 
that  the  Mahayana  as  well  as  the  Hinayana  type  of 
Buddhism  largely  has  lost  its  beneficial  influence  in 
the  Far  East,  and  has  sunk  to  the  level  of  superstition 
and  magic. 

Summing  up  the  matter,  we  may  say  that  Confuci- 
anism presented  a rational  system  of  ethics,  but  re- 
vealed no  power  by  which  man  could  regain  a high 
moral  life,  and  lacked  the  infinite  motive  of  eternal  life 
to  prompt  to  the  effort.  Hence,  with  its  inability  to 
deliver  the  soul  from  sin  and  with  its  countless  official 
opportunities  for  corruption,  it  soon  substituted  moral 


26o  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


precepts  for  moral  life  until,  indeed,  it  came  at  last, 
apparently  by  some  strange  magic,  to  identify  the  ut- 
terance of  moral  precepts  with  morality.  So  it  is  that 
Confucianism  has  not  only  proved  powerless  to  ad- 
vance the  nation,  but  repeatedly  has  tolerated  political 
corruption  and  despotism.  Taoism  and  Buddhism  both 
rested  on  the  supposition  of  the  evil  of  the  present 
world,  were  pessimistic  in  their  philosophy,  found  the 
highest  type  of  life  in  monasticism,  and  devoted  mon- 
astic life  to  idleness  instead  of  service  until  separation 
from  the  world  grew  into  indifference  to  the  sufferings 
of  humanity,  and  idleness  bred  wicked  imaginations 
and  led  to  corrupt  lives.  So  far  as  these  religionists 
took  any  part  in  practical  life,  their  services  consisted 
in  attempts  to  expel  disease  by  exorcism  and  supersti- 
tion, which  cost  the  people  annually  millions  upon  mil- 
lions of  dollars,  leaving  them  more  degraded  than  be- 
fore. 

“The  history  of  the  world  is  the  judgment  of  the 
world.”  The  history  of  Chinese  religion  is  the  judg- 
ment of  Chinese  religion.  As  the  result  of  three  thou- 
sand years  of  Taoism,  Confucianism,  and  Buddhism, 
we  find  the  most  numerous  and  virile  people  on  earth 
continuing  in  existence  a civilization  which  has  been 
paralyzed  for  two  thousand  years.  Inventing  gun- 
powder a thousand  years  in  advance  of  the  Western 
world,  they  never  used  it  even  for  national  defense; 
discovering  natural  gas  and  petroleum  centuries  ago, 
they  never  dreamed  of  the  possibilities  of  this  marvel- 
ous fuel.  Inventing  the  wheat  drill,  the  fanning  mill, 
the  steam  cooker  with  a dozen  divisions,  and  the  com- 
partment boat,  they  carried  none  of  these  inventions 


RELIGIOUS  LIFE  AND  STRUGGLES  261 


forward  to  their  practical  possibilities.  They  carried 
to  great  success  the  art  of  manufacturing  silk,  the  cul- 
tivation of  the  tea  plant,  and  the  manufacture  of  porce- 
lain; but  they  lost  the  first  to  the  Western  world,  the 
second  to  India,  and  are  in  danger  of  losing  the  third 
to  more  enterprising  rivals.  Above  all,  discovering 
five  centuries  in  advance  of  the  Western  world  the  art 
of  printing,  they  failed  utterly  to  use  this  mightiest 
engine  of  human  progress  for  the  general  education 
and  advancement  of  the  masses.  At  the  close  of  three 
thousand  years  of  continuous  history  upon  their  part, 
and  of  advancing  knowledge  upon  the  part  of  the 
human  race  as  a whole,  this  largest  and  most  virile 
nation  on  earth  is  lying  helpless  at  the  mercy  of  the 
world.  The  history  of  a religion  is  the  judgment  of  a 
religion,  because  religion  more  than  any  other  agency 
on  earth  molds  the  civilization  and  the  life  of  the  na- 
tion which  adopts  it.  Hence  whenever  the  Chinese  say 
“Confucianism  or  Buddhism  or  Taoism  is  sufficient, 
or  that  all  these  combined  are  sufficient,  and  we  have 
no  need  of  Christianity,”  all  the  missionary  need 
do  is  to  point  to  China’s  present  condition.  The  Chi- 
nese either  must  admit  that  they  are  by  nature  so  weak 
and  inefficient,  so  inferior  to  other  races  that  three  hun- 
dred and  thirty  million  are  unable  to  cope  with  fifty 
million  Japanese,  or  else  that  the  Western  world  has 
discovered  a source  of  power  which  they  have  not  yet 
understood  and  accepted. 

It  would  be  unfair  to  close  the  chapter  without  look- 
ing at  the  other  side  of  the  shield.  Taoism,  whatever 
its  superstitions,  never  took  its  eyes  off  the  future  life 
and  the  eternal  world.  It  also  had  the  insight  to 


262  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


choose  as  its  founder  the  profoundest  and  most  spir- 
itual philosopher  of  the  Chinese  race.  Buddhism  in 
China  soon  adopted  the  “Broad  Path,”  or  Mahayana 
doctrine,  and  it  too  never  lost  sight  of  the  spiritual  and 
eternal  interests  of  mankind.  Confucianism  never  lost 
its  vision  of  the  moral  duty  of  man.  Like  the  law  of 
the  Old  Testament,  it  yet  serves  as  a divine  prepara- 
tion for  the  coming  of  the  gospel.  Whatever  else  China 
has  done  or  failed  to  do,  she  at  least  has  continued  in 
existence  for  a longer  time  than  any  other  nation  on 
earth,  and  for  a nation  long-continued  life  is  a miracle. 
Not  another  nation  on  earth  which  arose  with  China 
has  continued  in  existence  down  to  the  present  time. 
Indeed,  few  nations  have  enjoyed  a lifetime  of  half  a 
millennium.  The  only  race  on  earth  which  in  this  re- 
spect can  be  compared  with  the  Chinese  is  the  Jewish 
race ; and  in  this  case,  while  the  Jewish  race  has  sur- 
vived, the  Jewish  nation  has  perished.  If,  therefore, 
the  Chinese  system  of  religion  is  chiefly  to  blame  for 
the  arrest  of  her  civilization,  we  must,  on  the  other 
side,  credit  the  continuance  of  that  civilization  chiefly 
to  the  same  religious  system.  The  Chinese  people,  es- 
pecially through  the  teachings  of  Confucius,  have  been 
imbued  for  over  two  thousand  years  with  the  concep- 
tion that  they  are  in  a universe  of  law:  they  have 
known  that  above  all  the  turmoil  of  gods  and  spirits 
this  universe  is  dominated  by  a moral  order.  Hence 
there  has  been  in  China  a vague,  indefinite  and  yet 
continuous  struggle  toward  practical  idealism.  In  the 
universal  inculcation  of  reverence  for  parents  we  find 
the  Chinese  embodiment  of  the  fifth  commandment ; in 
the  adoption  of  the  death  penalty  for  adultery  we  find 


RELIGIOUS  LIFE  AND  STRUGGLES  263 

the  embodiment  in  national  legislation  of  the  seventh 
commandment;  in  the  clear  conception  of  a moral 
order  and  the  dim  perception  of  a supreme  governor 
of  the  world,  the  Chinese  catch  glimpses  of  the  first 
commandment — the  most  vital  conception  of  the  Jew- 
ish people.  In  their  almost  universal  belief  in  a future 
life  of  rewards  and  punishments  based  upon  conduct 
in  the  present  life,  we  have  the  recognition  of  a funda- 
mental doctrine  of  the  New  Testament.  In  the  Maha- 
yana  form  of  Buddhism  we  find,  according  to  Dr. 
Richard,  Dr.  De  Groot,  and  Dr.  Lloyd,  an  embodiment, 
however  imperfect,  of  the  law  of  love,  one  of  the  funda- 
mental teachings  of  the  Master : in  the  Silver  Rule  of 
Confucius  we  have  the  Golden  Rule  of  Christ  in  its 
negative  form,  while  in  the  teachings  of  Mo  Ti  we 
find  the  Law  of  Love  in  an  imperfect  form  anticipated 
by  half  a millennium.  Surely,  if  we  say  with  some  re- 
proach in  our  tone,  “The  history  of  China  is  the  judg- 
ment of  China,”  the  Chinese  can  answer  with  some 
pride  of  tone,  “Yes,  the  history  of  China  is  the  judg- 
ment of  China,”  and  the}^  can  point  to  a civilization 
outlasting  any  other  on  earth,  and  to  a people  at  the 
end  of  four  thousand  years  of  national  life  still  the 
most  numerous  and  virile  race  upon  our  globe,  as  proof 
of  the  good  elements  embedded  in  the  Chinese  religious 
system.  Surely,  those  who  desire  to  be  fair  in  judg- 
ment, “to  know  no  man  after  the  flesh,  but  all  men 
after  the  spirit,”  who  believe  in  a Divine  Providence, 
who  accept  the  teaching  of  the  New  Testament  that 
God  hath  made  of  one  blood  all  nations  of  the  earth, 
and  that  he  is  equally  the  God  and  Father  of  us  all, 
must  recognize  in  the  teachings  of  Confucianism, 


264  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

Buddhism,  and  Taoism,  and  especially  in  the  use  which 
the  Chinese  have  made  of  these  doctrines,  a providen- 
tial preparation  for  a higher  and  diviner  destiny  than 
this  race  has  yet  reached.  If  the  Chinese  follow  the 
apostolic  injunction  to  prove  all  things  and  hold  fast 
that  which  is  good ; if  they  supplement  the  conservative 
instinct  which  has  preserved  the  nation  with  a pro- 
phetic instinct  which  leads  to  new  moral  conquests, 
and  to  fresh  advances  in  the  spiritual  life;  if  they  ac- 
cept Confucianism  as  a providential  preparation  of 
themselves  for  Christianity,  as  Judaism  was  a provi- 
dential preparation  of  the  Jews ; if  they  now  accept  the 
Bible  as  a revelation  springing  up  on  their  own  con- 
tinent, coming  from  their  God  as  well  as  our  God,  and 
destined  for  their  race  as  well  as  ours,  the  Chinese  will 
yet  play  a worthy  part  in  the  religious  history  of  man- 
kind. Let  them  still  claim  that  man  was  made  in  the 
image  of  God,  but  let  them  recognize  the  sinfulness  and 
consequent  weakness  of  human  nature;  let  them  once 
accept  by  faith  Jesus  Christ  as  the  Redeemer,  Regen- 
erator, and  Master  of  men;  let  them  once  experience 
the  new  birth  and  the  indwelling  Spirit,  and  the  Chi- 
nese may  yet  lead  the  world  to  that  ‘‘far-off  divine 
event,  to  which  the  whole  creation  moves.” 

Books  for  Reference 

Eitel,  E.  H. : Handbook  of  Chinese  Buddhism.  Faber,  Enist: 
Chronological  Handbook  of  the  History  of  China.  Groot,  J.  J. 
M.,  de:  The  Religious  System  of  China  (6  Vols.) ; Sectarian- 
ism and  Religious  Persecution  in  China  (2  Vols.)  ; Religion 
in  China;  The  Religion  of  the  Chinese.  Hue,  I’Abbe  E.  R. : 
Travels  in  Tartary,  Thibet,  and  China  During  the  years  1844- 
5-6;  translated  by  G.  W.  Hazlitt  (2  Vols.).  Legge,  James: 


RELIGIOUS  LIFE  AND  STRUGGLES  265 

The  Chinese  Classics  (6  Vols.).  Loyd,  Arthur:  The  Wheat 
Among  Tares.  MacGowan,  J.  A. : The  History  of  China.  Pott, 
F.  L.  H.:  A Sketch  of  Chinese  History.  Richard,  Timothy: 
The  New  Testament  of  the  Higher  Buddhism;  Awakening  of 
Faith.  Ross,  John:  The  Original  Religion  of  China.  Soothill, 
W.  E. : The  Three  Religions  of  China.  Werner,  E.  T.  C. : 
Descriptive  Sociology  of  the  Chinese.  Williams,  S.  Wells: 
The  Middle  Kingdom  (2  Vols.).  Wylie,  Alexander:  Notes  on 
Chinese  Literature. 


CHAPTER  XI 


CHINESE  LAW 

Some  Chinese  treatises  on  law  extend  to  one  hun- 
dred volumes,  and  the  aggregate  of  Chinese  law  books 
is  enormous.  The  civil  and  military  establishments, 
public  revenue  and  expenditures,  national  rites  and 
ceremonies,  public  justice  and  public  works  and  ad- 
ministration, each  has  its  body  of  regulations. 

Chinese  law  is  said  to  have  originated  some  twenty- 
seven  hundred  years  before  Christ,  in  marriage  regu- 
lations.^ It  is  also  said  that  in  the  seventy-sixth  year 
of  Yao,  2357-2255,  the  five  physical  punishments 
were  enacted:  branding,  cutting  off  the  nose,  castra- 
tion, cutting  off  the  feet,  cutting  off  the  head.^  Under 
Yao’s  successor.  Shun,  these  five  physical  punishments 
were  modified  into  banishment,  the  wearing  of  the 
kang,  the  use  of  the  bamboo,  and,  in  case  of  doubt, 
into  fines.  Imprisonment  in  the  early  history  of  China, 
and  for  many  centuries,  consisted  in  detention  of  the 
accused  until  the  trial ; it  was  not  imposed  as  a punish- 
ment. While  imprisonment  later  was  added  as  a pun- 
ishment for  crime,  nevertheless  in  China  it  is  not  a 
usual  punishment  for  crime  but  is  resorted  to  as  a 
method  of  detaining  suspects  under  harsh  conditions 
until  they  are  ready  to  confess  their  crimes. 

Any  study  of  the  early  codes  of  China  shows  Chi- 

' Wemer,  E.  T.  C.:  Descriptive  Sociology  of  th?  Chinese,  p.  91,  col.  i. 

> Ibid. 


266 


CHINESE  LAW 


267 

nese  law  originating  in  patriarchal  law,  and  it  has 
never  ceased  to  recognize  the  patriarchal  principle.  In 
this  regard  Chinese  law  to-day  corresponds  more  fully 
to  Roman  law  and  to  the  Hebrew  law  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment than  to  modern  legislation.  The  vital  and  uni- 
versally operating  principle  in  the  Chinese  govern- 
ment is  the  duty  of  submission  upon  the  part  of  all 
children  to  parental  authority,  and  upon  the  part  of  all 
subjects  to  imperial  authority,  because  the  emperor 
was  regarded  as  the  father  and  mother  of  the  nation. 
This  principle  has  survived  each  successive  dynasty 
and  all  the  revolutions  through  which  the  nation  has 
passed,  and  it  is  yet  quite  fully  embodied  in  Chinese 
statutes  and  supported  by  public  opinion.  For  in- 
stance, as  there  is  no  question  raised  in  the  Bible  over 
Abraham’s  right  to  put  Isaac  to  death  or  Jephthah’s 
right  to  offer  up  his  daughter,  so  in  China  the  power 
of  life  and  death  is  still  conceded  to  the  father.  The 
father  is  not  expected  to  put  the  son  to  death  himself, 
but  to  deliver  him  to  the  magistrate  for  execution. 
This  law  is  due  to  two  considerations:  first,  it  is  sup- 
posed that  natural  affection  will  render  every  son’s 
life  safe  in  the  father’s  keeping;  but,  secondly,  the 
family  and  the  entire  clan  are  held  responsible  for 
crime  committed  by  any  member  of  the  clan.  Hence,  if 
a son’s  criminal  tendencies  are  likely  to  bring  death  to 
the  entire  clan,  the  father  is  expected  to  deliver  him 
to  the  magistrate  for  execution.  The  husband  has  also 
the  power  of  life  and  death  over  his  wife,  but  is  justi- 
fied under  Chinese  law  in  slaying  her  himself  only  in 
case  he  discovers  her  in  adultery,  and  then  slays 
on  the  spur  of  the  moment  both  her  and  her  paramour. 


268  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


An  effort  to  codify  the  laws  was  bound  to  appear 
early  among  a people  at  once  so  practical  and  literary 
as  are  the  Chinese.  The  first  code  which  has  entered 
into  later  codes  was  framed  under  King  Wu,  about 
B.  C.  950,  and  is  translated  in  full  in  Dr.  Legge’s  “The 
Chinese  Classics.”^  Other  codes  were  framed  in  B.  C. 
650^  and  in  B.  C.  535-^  These  were  followed  by  the 
code  of  the  celebrated  Shi  Hwang-ti,  about  B.  C.  220. 
As  Shi  Hwang-ti’s  code,  like  most  of  his  work,  was 
largely  original  and  did  not  conform  to  established 
patterns,®  it  has  not  entered  into  later  codes  so  fully  as 
have  its  predecessors.  Shi  Hwang-ti’s  code  was 
largely  supplanted  in  A.  D.  196  by  the  code  of  the  Han 
dynasty.  This  code,  drawn  up  by  Hsiao  Ho  (died 
B.  C.  193),  is  the  standard  upon  which  all  the  later 
codes  of  China  are  based.  Under  Kao-tsu,  about  A.  D. 
206,  a code  was  drawn  up  which  has  since  been  known 
as  the  code  of  the  T’ang  dynasty.  This  consisted 
largely,  not  of  a transcript  of  the  laws  themselves,  but 
of  directions  to  officials  in  administering  justice.  In 
this  regard  it  is  an  addition  to  the  Han  code.  Every 
dynasty  since  the  T’ang  has  adopted  a code.  Each  of 
these  codes,  however,  has  been  composed  largely  of  the 
older  codes  with  such  modifications  as  the  new  rulers 
decreed;  but  the  changes  were  few  as  compared  with 
the  transmitted  code.  The  ordinary  laws  of  the  coun- 
try, therefore,  underwent  little  change  between  the 
Han  and  the  Ming  dynasties.  The  legal  records  of 
the  Ming  dynasty  state  that  all  legislation  embraced 

3 Parker,  E.  H.:  Ancient  China  Simplified,  pp.  109,  no. 

< Ibid.,  p.  III. 

‘Giles,  Herbert  A.:  Chinese  Biographical  Dictionary,  p.  394,  No.  1039. 

‘Werner,  E.  T.  C.:  Descriptive  Sociology  of  the  Chinese,  p.  94,  col.  i. 


CHINESE  LAW 


269 

in  their  code  is  based  upon  the  nine  chapters  of  the  Han 
dynasty  code,  issued  about  B.  C.  200.  In  A.  D.  1373 
the  Ming  dynasty  published  its  code  which  has  the 
same  divisions  as  are  embodied  in  the  T’ang  code/ 
Moreover,  the  present  Manchu  code,  drawn  up  by 
Yung  Lo,  is  based  upon  the  Ming  code.  The  Manchu 
code  is  called  the  Ta  Tsing  Lu,  or  “Great  Bright 
Legislation.”  Sir  George  Staunton  has  translated  the 
Ta  Tsing  Lu  in  his  compendious  volume  entitled  The 
Penal  Code  of  China.  But  in  addition  to  the  Ta  Tsing 
Lu  the  Manchu  dynasty  added  its  own  Li,  or  addi- 
tional laws,  for  the  modification  and  adaptation  of  the 
old  code  to  present  conditions.®  The  entire  body  of 
Chinese  law  embraced  in  the  Lu  and  the  Li  fills  some 
two  thousand  nine  hundred  and  six  octavo  pages.  Of 
these  two  divisions  of  the  law,  the  Lu  are  generally 
recognized  as  the  fundamental  laws  of  the  nation,  and 
the  Li  as  the  statute  laws  of  each  dynasty,  modifying 
these  fundamental  laws.  Alabaster  holds  that  the  Lu, 
or  basic  code,  is  not  a dynastic  but  a national  code; 
that  is,  that  the  founder  of  a new  dynasty  would  not 
be  free  to  substitute  new  laws  for  the  established  code 
of  the  nation ; this  would  be  a violation  of  Chinese  na- 
tional custom  and  of  the  Chinese  sense  of  right.  This 
violation  of  Chinese  custom  and  this  adoption  of  an 
original  code  by  Shi  Hwang-ti  was  one  of  the  causes 
of  the  speedy  downfall  of  his  dynasty.  Alabaster  says, 
“The  head  of  a state  in  legislating  afresh  may  not 
follow  his  own  arbitrary  will,  but,  on  the  contrary, 

' Journal  N.  C.  B.  R.  A.  S.  New  Series,  vol.  xi,  p.  41. 

® Note. — The  Li  are  translated  and  published  in  the  Notes  and  Commen- 
taries on  Chinese  Criminal  Law,  Together  with  a Brief  Excursus  on  Law  and 
Property,  by  Sir  Chaloner  Alabaster,  edited  by  Ernest  Alabaster. 


270  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

must  obey  certain  general  principles  known  to  the 
country  at  large.'’**  This  statement  confirms  the  opin- 
ion expressed  in  the  chapter  on  Chinese  government, 
that  while  the  government  is  a despotism  in  name,  it 
is  nevertheless  in  fact  subject  to  limitations.  “The 
same  principle  is  repeatedly  laid  down  by  the  Manchu 
emperor,  K’ang-hi,  that  was  asserted  by  the  Roman 
emperors,  viz.,  though  above  the  law,  the  emperors 
considered  themselves  bound  to  live  under  the  law.”^“ 

The  distinction  between  the  Lu  and  the  Li  is  some- 
times likened  to  that  between  common  law  and  statute 
law.  This  statement  is  not  quite  accurate  because  the 
Lu  as  well  as  the  Li  are  embraced  in  the  published 
code.  Moreover,  the  Li  while  practically  adding  to 
and  modifying  the  Lu,  nevertheless  are  treated  rather 
as  by-laws  under  a charter  than  as  additions  taking 
rank  on  an  equality  with  the  sections  of  the  charter. 
The  toleration  of  this  addition  of  the  Li  to  the  Lu  by 
the  Chinese  is  due  to  their  desire  to  reconcile  abstract 
and  ancient  law  with  modern  justice.  The  Chinese 
legal  motto  runs,  “If  the  law  does  not  provide  a 
remedy  for  injustice,  one  must  be  found.”  The  Li  is 
an  attempt  on  the  part  of  the  emperor  to  frame  such 
new  laws  as  the  new  and  unusual  conditions  in  par- 
ticular cases  may  demand.  Another  Chinese  legal 
proverb  is : “The  law  lays  down  great  principles.  The 
Li  accommodate  these  principles  to  human  nature.” 
Again:  “In  all  ages  a person  has  been  considered  more 
important  than  property.” 

With  this  brief  review  of  the  origin  and  development 

•Alabaster,  Ernest;  Notes  and  Commentaries  on  Chinese  Criminal  Law, 
Introduction,  p.  xliii. 

Journal  N.  C.  B.  R.  A.  S.  New  Series,  vol.  xi,  p.  39. 


CHINESE  LAW 


271 


of  Chinese  law,  let  us  turn  to  a consideration  of  its 
character.  Gibbon  writes,  “The  laws  of  a nation  form 
the  most  instructive  portion  of  its  history.”  Medhurst 
says,  “The  laws  of  China  are  numerous,  minute,  and 
circumstantial,  and  give  the  best  idea  of  the  character 
of  the  people  and  their  advance  in  civilization  which 
could  possibly  be  furnished. A conspectus  of  the 
laws  of  China  furnishes  us  insight  not  only  into  the 
government  of  China  but  also  into  the  national  habits 
and  character,  the  conditions  and  the  stage  of  civiliza- 
tion of  the  Chinese  people.  Nevertheless,  we  must  not 
trust  too  implicitly  to  laws  to  reveal  the  character  of  a 
people,  because  laws  may  be  found  upon  statute  books 
which  are  seldom  or  never  executed.  At  this  point 
Alabaster  furnishes  us  an  additional  source  of  knowl- 
edge, because  he  gi\-es  not  only  the  laws  themselves  but 
the  decisions  of  the  courts  in  many  cases.  These  de- 
cisions furnish  illustrations  of  the  administration  of 
law  in  China  and  reveal  far  more  authoritatively  than 
the  statements  of  travelers,  or  of  foreign  residents  or 
students,  the  actual  state  of  civilization  upon  numerous 
points  of  morals  covered  by  the  decisions.  But  the 
laws  and  the  cases  recorded  under  them  by  Alabaster 
do  not  furnish  an  exhaustive  knowledge  of  Chinese 
civilization,  because  the  cases  which  he  cites  are  not 
exhaustive,  and  especially  fail  to  cover  numerous 
trials  in  court  in  which  there  was  a miscarriage  of 
justice.  This  misuse  of  law,  or  failure  to  secure 
justice,  is  to  be  severely  condemned;  but  in  forming 
our  judgment  of  Chinese  civilization  we  must  recog- 
nize it.  In  a word,  we  need  a knowledge  of  the  law 


“ Medhurst,  W.  H.:  China,  pp.  131,  132. 


272  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


itself,  the  knowledge  furnished  by  cases  in  which  the 
law  has  been  enforced  or  modified  by  the  sentence  of 
the  judge,  and  also  some  knowledge  of  the  cases  in 
which  criminals  through  bribery  have  escaped  the  law, 
in  order  to  get  a clear  knowledge  of  the  civilization  of 
the  nation.  We  lack  authoritative  knowledge  on  this 
last  point. 

The  following  may  serve  as  illustrations  of  the  code : 
“The  land  tax  is  supposed  never  to  exceed  two  per  cent 
of  the  annual  produce  of  the  land.”^^  A remedy  for 
crime  which  was  put  in  practice  for  a time  consisted  of 
an  appeal  to  the  sense  of  shame  instead  of  the  threat 
of  punishment — the  criminal  being  compelled  to  wear 
a green  kerchief  for  a time  proportionate  to  the  crime. 
Women  convicted  of  lewdness  were  compelled  to  wear 
a green  handkerchief  on  the  head;  and  bad  women 
to-day  are  sometimes  called  “green  handkerchiefs.” 
In  A.  D.  1869  ^ named  Chao  committed  a capital 
offense  by  misappropriating  government  funds.  At 
the  time  of  his  execution  his  daughter  appeared  with 
him  before  the  magistrate  and  said : “My  mother  died 
when  I was  seven  years  old.  My  father  has  brought 
me  up  on  funds  taken  from  the  government.  As  my 
life  has  depended  upon  his  defalcations,  I must  claim 
the  privilege  of  dying  with  him.”  The  officials  re- 
ferred her  case  to  the  emperor,  who,  impressed  by  the 
filial  piety  of  the  daughter,  lowered  the  crime  below 
the  death  penalty.  Wine  and  spirits  causing  the  tem- 
porary loss  of  reason  and  the  commission  of  many 
crimes,  the  death  penalty  was  decreed  and  inflicted 
on  manufacturers,  venders,  and  purchasers  of  intoxi- 


‘2  Medhurst,  W.  II.:  China,  pp.  131,  133. 


CHINESE  LAW 


273 


cants  in  the  twelfth  century  before  Christ.'^  The  de- 
cree has  been  repeated  whenever  drunkenness  has 
threatened  to  become  widespread;  and  as  a conse- 
quence the  Chinese  are  aniono-  the  most  solder  people 
on  earth.  In  the  jieriod  of  disruption,  A.  D.  221-589, 
a law  was  passed  that  fugitive  criminals  should  have 
their  feet  cut  off  so  that  they  could  no  longer  run 
away  from  justice.  Eor  the  same  reason  thieves  lost 
their  hands,  the  licentious  were  mutilated,  etc.“  In 
the  reign  of  Yang-ti,  of  the  Sui  dynasty,  the  people 
were  forbidden  to  carry  arms,  and  another  decree  was 
issued  in  A.  D.  196  ordering  the  people  to  deliver  all 
weapons  up  to  the  government  on  pain  of  execution.^® 
Again,  in  A.  D.  1336,  the  Chinese  were  forbidden  to 
carry  arms,  a prohibition  always  indicative  of  an  ad- 
vance in  civilization.^®  In  A.  D.  999  before  a magis- 
trate of  Hangchow  a brother  brought  action  against 
his  sister  for  the  recovery  of  his  share  of  the  paternal 
estate.  The  brother-in-law  appeared  in  the  defense 
and  testified  that  the  father  died  when  the  contestant 
was  three  years  old,  that  just  before  his  death  he  had 
made  the  will  leaving  three  tenths  of  the  property  to 
the  son  and  seven  tenths  of  the  property  to  the  daugh- 
ter on  condition  that  the  daughter  and  her  husband 
bring  up  the  son,  and  he  showed  the  will  in  proof  of 
his  statements ; and  the  conditions  were  in  accordance 
with  his  testimony.  The  magistrate  accepted  the  will, 
and  in  announcing  his  judgment  pronounced  the  father 
a wise  man  who  knew  that  the  little  son  would  not  sur- 

“Wemer,  E.  T.  C.:  Descriptive  Sociology  of  the  Chinese,  p.  95,  col.  i. 

**  Ibid.,  p.  95,  col.  2. 

Wemer,  E.  T.  C.:  Descriptive  Sociology  of  the  Chinese,  p.  97,  col.  2. 

Miss  Simcox:  Primitive  Civilization,  vol.  ii,  p.  130. 


274  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

vive  him  long  unless  he  bribed  the  daughter  and  her 
husband  to  bring  him  up  by  willing  them  the  larger 
share  of  his  property.  He  further  expressed  the  judg- 
ment that  the  father  relied  upon  the  judge  to  correct 
this  seeming  injustice  to  his  son,  and  the  figures  in  the 
will  showed  how  the  father  really  wished  the  property 
divided,  namely,  seven  tenths  to  the  son,  and  three 
tenths  to  the  daughter.  Accordingly,  the  judge  re- 
versed the  terms  of  the  will  in  accordance  with  the 
meaning  which  he  read  into  it.  This  decision  is  praised 
by  the  Chinese^^  as  Solomon’s  decision  discovering  the 
true  mother  of  the  surviving  baby  has  been  praised  by 
the  Jews.^*  An  attempt  to  prevent  usury  by  decreeing 
the  loss  of  the  money  loaned  and  other  punishments 
was  made  by  the  late  dynasty  in  1561.^®  These  illustra- 
tions furnish  some  conception  of  the  law  and  its  ad- 
ministration. 

A study  of  Chinese  law  reveals  the  following  fea- 
tures : 

First.  In  the  early  laws  of  China  corporal,  or 
physical,  punishment  is  prescribed  for  almost  every 
crime.  This  form  of  punishment  continues  to  a large 
extent  down  to  the  present  day.  But  so  many  grounds 
for  the  modification  of  punishment  are  now  specified 
that  its  infliction  is  not  so  common  as  the  law  itself 
might  lead  one  to  suppose,  though  corporal  punishment 
prevails  throughout  China  to  a far  greater  extent  than 
in  any  country  of  Europe  or  America. 

Second.  Chinese  law  is  characterized  by  the  se- 
verity of  its  penalties,  combined  with  leniency  in  their 


” Werner,  E.  T.  C. : Descriptive  Sociology  of  the  Chinese,  p.  97,  col.  2. 
'*  I Kings  3.  16-28. 

*•  Mendoza:  History  of  China,  Introduction,  p.  42. 


CHINESE  LAW 


275 


enforcement.  The  law  in  China,  as  in  many  Western 
countries,  is  thus  made  very  broad  and  severe  in  order 
that  no  real  criminal  may  slip  through  its  meshes.  On 
the  other  hand,  where  there  is  evidently  no  intention 
upon  the  part  of  the  transgressor  to  violate  the  law,  or 
where  there  are  mitigating  circumstances,  the  law  is 
not  expected  to  be  strictly  enforced.  However,  the 
lower  judges  are  not  allowed  to  exercise  this  leniency. 
The  court  must  put  down  opposite  the  crime  of  which 
it  finds  the  culprit  guilty  the  punishment  as  prescribed 
by  law,  and  then  write  after  the  penalty  the  phrase, 
"Subject  to  revision.”  The  case  is  then  sent  up  to  the 
higher  authorities  and  through  them  to  the  emperor 
who  receives  the  credit  for  the  leniency  exercised. 
Upon  the  whole,  it  is  said  that  this  exercise  of  leniency 
upon  the  part  of  the  emperor  where  the  moral  offense 
is  not  great  has  a salutary  effect  upon  the  people.  But 
the  promulgation  of  laws  which  are  not  expected  to  be 
strictly  enforced  leaves  abundant  opportunities  in 
China,  as  in  Western  nations,  for  corruption  of  offi- 
cials who  are  called  upon  to  enforce  the  laws.  Never- 
theless, Staunton  maintains  that  while  many  criminals 
escape  through  bribery,  no  very  frequent  or  long-con- 
tinued lawlessness  fails  of  punishment  in  China. 

Third.  Chinese  law  is  characterized  by  the  tendency 
to  draw  fine  distinctions  in  order  to  attain  exact  justice 
in  each  particular  case.  This  makes  the  law  complex 
and  its  enforcement  slow  and  difficult.  The  golden 
mean  lies  somewhere  between  the  attempt  to  reach  the 
national  ideal  of  exact  justice  upon  the  one  side,  and, 
upon  the  other  side,  promptness  and  certainty  in  the 


“Staunton,  Sir  George;  The  Penal  Code  of  China,  Introduction,  p.  xxiii. 


276  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

administration  of  the  laws.  Western  statesmen  have 
no  more  reached  this  golden  mean  than  have  Chinese 
statesmen;  and  possibly  Chinese  laws  are  not  more 
complex  than  is  Western  legislation. 

Fourth.  Chinese  law  is  marked  by  the  absolute 
sovereignty  of  the  law  within  its  own  realm.  Thus, 
theoretically,  no  military  intervention  with  the  civil 
law  is  tolerated  in  China,  and  Alabaster  cites  many 
cases  under  the  late  dynasty  where  this  principle  has 
been  rigidly  enforced.  But  the  Chinese  have  a pro- 
vision permitting  the  execution  of  suitable  punishment 
by  the  emperor  whenever  the  safety  of  the  state  de- 
mands it.  This  provision  is  similar  to  the  provision  in 
the  United  States  for  the  proclamation  of  martial  law, 
save  that  in  the  United  States  the  suspension  of  civil 
law  is  proclaimed  in  advance,  whereas  in  China  the 
official  must  assume  the  risk  of  acting  in  time  of  dan- 
ger and  rely  upon  securing  vindication  later.  Yuan 
Shi  Kai  secured  such  a decree  from  the  Supreme  Court 
of  China  in  1914  absolving  him  from  all  guilt  for 
suspending  civil  law  and  the  execution  of  martial  law 
during  the  late  rebellion. 

Fifth.  The  administration  of  justice  in  China  is 
modified  by  the  large  amount  of  local  self-government 
which  prevails  throughout  the  nation.  Alabaster,  in 
his  introduction,  writes:  “There  is  a considerable 

amount  of  local  self-government  in  China.”  In  its 
simplest  form  it  is  the  self-government  exercised  by 
the  head  of  the  family.  From  this  there  has  been 
evolved  the  self-government  exercised  by  the  head  of 
the  clan,  then  the  authority  passed  from  the  oldest  to 
the  most  capable  man  in  the  clan — usually  a man  with 


CHINESE  LAW 


277 


a literary  degree.  In  addition  to  the  family  and  clan 
laws,  the  various  gilds  have  their  statutes  for  the  man- 
agement of  the  business  of  the  various  members;  and 
the  gilds,  either  individually  or  combined,  largely  regu- 
late all  commercial  transactions  throughout  the  nation. 
Hence,  the  national  law  of  China  is  largely  confined  to 
the  collection  of  the  revenues  and  to  the  maintenance 
of  public  peace.  “All  the  mass  of  what  we  call  com- 
mercial and  civil  jurisprudence  no  more  concerned  the 
government,  so  far  as  individual  rights  were  con- 
cerned, than  Agricultural  Custom,  Bankers’  Custom, 
Butchers’  Weights,  and  such  like  petty  matters ; wher- 
ever these  or  analogous  matters  were  touched  by  the 
State,  it  was  for  commonwealth  purposes,  and  not 
for  the  maintenance  of  private  rights,”^^  This  ap- 
parent indifference  of  the  government  to  individual 
rights  is  due  to  the  fact  that  these  rights  are  guarded 
by  family,  local,  and  gild  customs  and  regulations, 
save  so  far  as  some  local  injustice  threatens  the  peace 
of  the  State. 

Sixth.  The  Chinese  legal  system  is  marked  by  the 
supremacy  of  the  imperial  decrees  over  all  local  regu- 
lations. 

Local  self-government,  theoretically,  does  not  con- 
flict with  the  principle  of  the  supremacy  of  the  Lu 
and  the  Li,  for  the  clan  is  regarded  as,  after  all,  sub- 
ject to  the  imperial  law.  To  the  Chinese,  therefore, 
it  seems  incredible  that  any  single  State  in  the  Union, 
like  California,  should  be  able  to  pass  laws  contraven- 
ing in  any  measure  the  treaties  of  the  central  govern- 
ment or  the  action  of  the  national  government  as  eni- 


“ Parker,  E.  H.:  Ancient  Chinese  Simplified,  p.  109. 


278  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


bodied  in  Congress,  or  any  executive  order  of  the 
President.  It  seems  to  the  Chinese  government  still 
more  incredible  that  a private  syndicate,  like  that 
headed  by  the  late  Senator  Brice,  of  Ohio,  could  sell 
the  concession  to  build  a railway  from  Hankow  to  Can- 
ton, which  China  freely  granted  the  Brice  syndicate 
through  her  friendship  for  the  American  government, 
to  a Belgian  syndicate  without  first  obtaining  the  con- 
sent of  the  American  government  to  the  transfer.  It 
may  be  added,  however,  that  while  the  Chinese  nation 
is  theoretically  supreme  over  gilds  and  clans  and  all 
local  authorities,  yet  the  Chinese  government  hesitates 
and,  indeed,  refuses  to  set  aside  the  gild  or  clan  laws 
save  so  far  as  these  interfere  with  the  general  welfare 
of  the  nation.  It  may  also  be  said  that  family  law  is 
so  strong  in  China  and  the  members  of  the  family  or 
clan  live  in  such  close  contact,  and  the  interference  of 
a stranger  in  falnily  or  clan  conflicts  is  so  frequently 
for  purposes  of  plunder,  or  for  the  sake  of  some  per- 
sonal advantage,  that  Chinese  law  forbids  any  inter- 
ference with  a family  quarrel,  a family  fight,  a 
family  robbery,  or  even  family  murder,  save  by  an 
official  charged  with  the  responsibility  of  maintaining 
the  public  peace.  This  regulation,  which  compels  a 
stranger  to  stand  idly  by,  even  though  he  witnesses  one 
member  of  a clan  robbed  or  murdered  by  another  mem- 
ber thereof,  springs  from  the  long  experience  of  the 
Chinese  under  family  relationships. 

Seventh.  A striking  feature  of  the  administration 
of  public  justice  is  the  lack  of  provision  for  litigation. 
Although  the  people  are  somewhat  litigious  and  quite 
willing  when  once  engaged  in  a quarrel  to  employ 


CHINESE  LAW 


279 


others  to  help  them  secure  the  victory,  yet  there  is  no 
professional  class  of  lawyers.  The  place  of  lawyers 
in  China  is  taken  by  the  middlemen  mentioned  in 
Chapter  V,  who  serve  as  mediators  between  the  con- 
tending parties.  These  men  are  not  simply  authorized 
to  interpret  existing  laws,  but  their  authority  re- 
sembles that  of  commissioners  in  our  country;  and 
they  are  authorized  to  make  additional  regulations  and 
agreements  for  the  settlement  of  difficulties.  The 
Chinese  have  two  classes  of  men  who  may  to  some 
extent  be  connected  with  cases  before  the  courts. 
Since  a law  published  in  the  tenth  century  and  gen- 
erally observed  down  to  the  present  time  prescribes 
that  all  petitions  shall  be  in  writing,  there  is  a class 
of  notaries,  or  scribes,  who  may  draw  up  complaints 
to  present  to  the  magistrate.  But  so  strong  is  the 
objection  upon  the  part  of  the  Chinese  authorities  to 
litigation  that  it  is  illegal  for  a Chinese  notary  to  write 
a paper  constituting  an  argument  of  the  case  for  a 
litigant.  Indeed,  punishment  was  sometimes  meted 
out  for  such  offenses  upon  the  part  of  notaries. 
There  is  another  class  of  men  corresponding  very 
closely  to  legal  counselors  in  Great  Britain  and  the 
United  States.  But  only  the  officials  are  authorized 
to  employ  such  counselors,  and  their  function  is, 
through  their  superior  knowledge,  to  direct  the  official 
in  the  administration  of  the  laws  so  as  to  protect  him 
from  transgressing  legal  bounds.  Here,  again,  Ala- 
baster cites  the  case  of  a counselor,  who,  although 
seventy  years  of  age,  was  sentenced  to  eighty  blows  by 

**  Alabaster,  Ernest;  Notes  and  Commentaries  on  Chinese  Criminal  Law, 
P-  59- 


28o  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


the  bamboo  and  two  years’  imprisonment  for  appear- 
ing before  an  official  without  that  official’s  invitation 
and  attempting  to  bring  down  the  offense  of  a pris- 
oner from  a charge  of  murder  to  that  of  man- 
slaughter. 

The  prohibition  of  the  use  of  lawyers  in  China  has 
some  grave  limitations  as  well  as  advantages.  Fre- 
quently an  official  does  not  receive  an  important  office 
until  he  is  an  old  man.  Then  if  he  fails  or  neglects 
to  secure  the  services  of  a counselor  of  law,  whose 
services  in  such  a case  are  entirely  legal,  he  often  falls 
into  maladministration  of  the  law.  This  maladmin- 
istration of  the  law  upon  the  part  of  the  official  is  quite 
as  often  due  to  his  desire  to  secure  a bribe  from  one 
of  the  petitioners  as  it  is  to  his  willful  ignorance  of  the 
law. 

Eighth.  Another  peculiarity  of  Chinese  adminis- 
tration of  justice  is  the  method  of  judicial  procedure. 
The  judge  attempts  by  an  examination  of  the  witnesses 
against  the  prisoner  and  also  by  an  examination  of  the 
culprit  to  ascertain  the  exact  facts  bearing  upon  the 
alleged  crime.  He  then  turns  to  the  government  coun- 
selor, or  to  the  law  books,  to  find  out  under  which 
definition  of  crime  this  case  most  nearly  falls.  He 
then  has  no  alternative  save  to  write  opposite  the  crime 
of  which  he  finds  the  prisoner  guilty  the  penalty  fixed 
by  the  code  for  this  crime,  but  may  add  the  words, 
“Subject  to  revision.”  Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  the 
authority  of  the  Board  of  Punishments  to  decrease 
or  increase  the  penalty  creates  a very  strong  desire 
upon  the  part  of  a criminal  or  his  friends  to  secure 
the  favor  of  that  board.  This  furnishes  very  great 


CHINESE  LAW 


281 

opportunities  for  corruption.  While  tliere  are  numer- 
ous cases  of  political  corruption  in  Western  lands,  and 
numerous  illustrations  of  failure  to  enforce  the  laws 
through  the  desire  of  officials  to  secure  the  support  of 
the  criminal  class,  nevertheless  the  corruption  of  jus- 
tice, and  especially  of  judges  in  China,  has  been  more 
serious  and  is  deeper  and  more  widespread  than  is 
known  in  Western  lands. 

Ninth.  A marked  characteristic  of  the  Chinese 
legal  system  is  that  of  social  responsibility  for  crime. 
A father  is  held  responsible  for  crimes  committed  by 
any  member  of  his  family.  The  head  of  a clan  and  in 
some  measure  the  entire  clan  is  held  responsible  for 
a crime  committed  by  any  member  thereof.  Undoubt- 
edly, this  arrangement  is  far  from  ideal;  and  this 
feature  of  Chinese  law,  like  the  feature  of  parental 
responsibility  in  Roman  and  Jewish  law,  is  doomed 
to  disappear.  Nevertheless,  the  following  consider- 
tions  tend  to  mitigate  the  injustice  and  to  make  the 
system  more  tolerable  in  practice  than  it  seems  in 
theory:  The  father  of  the  family  or  the  head  of  the 
clan  or  gild  is  closely  associated  with  those  under  him, 
and  is  therefore  expected  to  be  fully  aware  of  the 
faults  and  crimes  committed  by  the  members  of  his 
gild,  clan,  or  family.  Moreover,  if  the  head  of  a gild 
or  family  knows  that  a member  is  vicious,  he  ought  to 
go  to  the  head  of  the  county  or  prefecture  and  deliver 
up  this  guilty  person  for  punishment,  or  at  least  lodge 
complaint  against  him.  Knowing  the  father’s  natural 
affection  for  his  son,  the  civil  authorities  in  parental 
cases  usually  follow  the  father’s  judgment,  and  may 
go  so  far  as  to  inflict  the  death  penalty  upon  a son  if 


282  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


the  father  so  advises.  Hence,  with  this  intimate 
knowledge  and  large  authority,  the  father  is  held 
responsible  for  the  conduct  of  all  the  members  of  his 
family.  If,  therefore,  he  permits  crime  to  develop,  the 
Chinese  hold  him  responsible  for  the  crime.  Chinese 
officials  are  not  held  responsible  for  individual  crimes 
committed  in  regions  under  their  supervision,  but  they 
are  held  responsible  for  any  large  increase  of  crime  or 
for  a rebellion,  on  the  ground  that  they  ought  to  know 
the  people  over  whom  they  have  been  appointed  to 
rule,  and  that  prompt  and  impartial  administration  of 
justice  on  their  part  will  prevent  society  from  falling 
into  disorder. 

As  a matter  of  fact,  two  results  have  followed  the 
Chinese  practice  of  social  responsibility  for  crime. 
First,  there  is  a tendency  to  suppress  the  facts  in 
regard  to  crime,  so  that  parents  and  officials  may 
escape  any  penalties  therefor.  A free  press  will  pres- 
ently remedy  this  evil.  Second,  the  responsibility  of 
the  head  of  the  household,  and  in  some  measure  of 
the  entire  household,  and  at  times  of  an  entire  clan  or 
gild  for  the  crime,  together  with  the  severe  penalties 
imposed  upon  criminals  and  their  families,  has  made 
crime  in  China  probably  less  in  proportion  to  the  popu- 
lation than  in  the  United  States.  Considering  the 
downfall  of  the  IManchu  dynasty  in  1911-12,  the  rebel- 
lions of  Sun  Yat  Sen  and  White  Wolf  in  1913,  and  the 
famines  which  these  rebellions  and  the  overflow  of  the 
Yangtze  and  of  the  West  river  caused,  the  marvel  is 
that  the  Chinese  people  maintain  so  large  a measure 
of  general  peace  and  order  and  self-control  as  has 
characterized  the  nation  since  the  downfall  of  the  late 


CHINESE  LAW  283 

dynasty.  The  Chinese  are  a quiet,  orderly,  peace- 
lo\dng  people. 

Tenth.  The  grave  defects  in  Chinese  administration 
of  justice  are:  the  wiekling  of  the  judicial  and  execu- 
tive authority  by  the  same  person.  The  judge  ex- 
amines the  witnesses  and  becomes  in  some  measure  the 
prosecutor.  In  addition  to  this  defect,  there  is  still 
graver  fault  in  the  use  of  torture  and  imprisonment 
to  extract  the  truth  from  witnesses,  or  a confession 
from  the  accused.  In  addition  to  these  serious  defects, 
the  government  fails  to  provide  adequate  salaries  for 
the  judges  and  administrators.  Not  only  is  the  official 
left  without  sufficient  salary  for  himself,  but  the  head 
of  a city,  the  judge  of  a court,  and  the  collector  of  the 
revenues  must  provide  all  the  agencies  for  the  carrying 
forward  of  administration  in  the  city,  the  court,  or 
in  the  revenue  department,  from  the  fees  which  he 
collects  or  extorts  in  the  administration  of  his  office. 
Unfortunately,  when  one  begins  to  extort  fees  or  to 
accept  bribes  for  the  necessary  expenses  of  administer- 
ing his  office,  and  thus  confounds  public  and  private 
interests,  he  seldom  stops  with  the  acceptance  of  suffi- 
cient fees  or  bribes  to  cover  the  legitimate  expenses 
of  administration,  but  attempts  speedily  to  enrich  him- 
self out  of  these  illegal  fees.  The  corruption  of  justice 
impresses  foreigners  as  the  most  serious  fault  in 
Chinese  administration  of  law. 

The  evils  of  the  Chinese  administration  of  justice 
by  the  general  government  are  in  a considerable  meas- 
ure limited  by  the  large  amount  of  self-government 
enjoyed  by  the  various  communities  and  gilds.  “The 
common  law  is  administered  by  the  people  themselves. 


284  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


. . . It  is  a question  whether  liberty  in  any  other 

country,  even  in  our  own,  has  ever  advanced  beyond 
this  stage.”^^  Williams  expresses  the  following  com- 
parative judgment  of  Chinese  law  and  its  administra- 
tion: “Still,  with  all  its  tortures  and  punishments 
allowed  by  the  law,  and  all  the  cruelties  put  upon  the 
criminals  by  irritated  officials  and  rapacious  under- 
lings and  jailers,  a broad  survey  of  Chinese  legisla- 
tion, judged  by  its  results  and  the  general  appearance 
of  society,  gives  the  impression  of  an  administration 
far  superior  to  other  Asiatic  countries.”^^  A favor- 
able comparison  between  Chinese  legislation  and  the 
legislation  of  Western  countries  has  been  made  by 
the  Edinburgh  Review:  “By  far  the  most  remarkable 
thing  in  this  code  appeared  to  us  to  be  its  great  reason- 
ableness, clearness  and  consistency — the  businesslike 
brevity  and  directness  of  the  various  provisions,  and 
the  plainness  and  moderation  of  the  language  in  which 
they  are  expressed.  There  is  nothing  here  of  the 
turgid  adulation,  the  accumulated  epithets,  and  fa- 
tiguing self-praise  of  other  Eastern  despotisms,  but  a 
calm,  concise,  and  distinct  series  of  enactments,  savor- 
ing throughout  of  practical  judgment  and  European 
good  sense.  . . . And  redundant  and  absurdly  minute 
as  these  laws  are  in  many  particulars,  we  scarcely 
know  any  European  code  that  is  at  once  so  copious 
and  so  consistent,  or  that  is  so  nearly  free  from  intri- 
cacy, bigotry,  and  fiction.”^® 

Alabaster  concludes  that  the  Chinese  system  of  law 
as  a whole  is  a subject  for  admiration  rather  than 

“Journal  N.  C.  B.  R.  A.  S.  New  Series,  vol.  xl.  pp.  14-16. 

“Williams,  S.  Wells:  The  Middle  Kingdom,  vol.  i,  pp.  391,  392. 

“The  Edinburgh  Review,  vol.  xvi  (1810).  p.  476,  English  edition. 


CHINESE  LAW 


ridicule  by  Western  critics.  Western  residents  in 
China  who  have  made  any  thorough  study  of  Chinese 
law  and  of  its  administration  will  agree  with  Ala- 
baster. Probably  a fair  judgment  of  the  Chinese 
system  of  justice  may  he  summed  up  in  the  following 
conclusions:  First,  the  grave  blemish  in  Chinese 
administration  of  law  is  official  corruption.  Second, 
the  system  of  law  in  China  resembles  Roman  and  Jew- 
ish law  more  than  it  resembles  European  or  American 
law.  Third,  Chinese  law  is  not  so  favorable  to  indi- 
vidual rights  and  does  not  encourage  individual  initia- 
tive so  much  as  American  law.  In  this  regard  its 
patriarchal  origin  and  its  paternal  character  are  a 
serious  blemish.  Fourth,  with  a single  criminal  system 
for  the  whole  nation  and  with  family,  gild,  and  local 
legislation  subject  to  the  national  law,  and  with  one 
national  Board  of  Punishments,  or  Supreme  Court, 
to  review  all  the  capital  criminal  cases  in  the  nation, 
criminal  law  and  administration  in  China  is  more  uni- 
form than  in  the  United  States.  Fifth,  commercial 
law  being  subject  so  largely  to  various  gilds  is  even 
more  complex  in  China  than  commercial  law  in  the 
various  States  of  the  Union.  Sixth,  with  the  centuries 
upon  centuries  for  the  elaboration  of  their  legal  system, 
with  the  practical  common  sense  of  the  Chinese  and 
the  high  moral  code  of  Confucius,  the  Chinese  legal 
system,  with  the  exception  of  its  emphasis  of  the  family 
as  the  unit  of  society,  compares  favorably  with  the 
legal  system  of  Western  nations.  Chinese  law  tends 
to  confirm  Maine’s  theory  that  the  movement  of  pro- 
gressive society  has  been  from  status  to  contract,  and 
from  the  family  as  the  unit  of  society  to  the  individual 


286  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


as  the  unit.  China,  until  recently,  has  been  in  the 
status  of  the  family  stage.  In  the  reaction  from  the 
ancient  conception.  Western  governments  went  too 
far  in  the  direction  of  freedom  of  contract  and  of  pure 
individualism,  and  a healthy  reaction  is  now  in  prog- 
ress in  the  Western  world,  while  Japan  and  China  in 
the  Eastern  world  are  moving  toward  individualism. 
The  human  race  will  reach  a wiser  administration  of 
justice  by  this  interaction  of  Occident  and  Orient. 
The  golden  mean  lies  in  a combination  of  the  highest 
interests  of  the  individual  with  the  highest  interests 
of  the  famly,  the  nation,  and  humanity;  and  this  con- 
stitutes the  ideal  for  both  Oriental  and  Western  na- 
tions. 

The  chief  failure  of  Chinese  administration  of 
justice  lies,  not  in  the  law,  but  in  the  men  who  have 
administered  it.  The  Chinese  themselves  are  begin- 
ning to  accept  the  Christian  program  and  to  recognize 
that  the  New  China  is  impossible  without  a regenerate 
Chinese;  that  a higher  type  of  manhood  is  essential 
for  the  successful  adoption  by  the  Chinese  of  Western 
civilization.  Christian  ideals  of  patriotism  and  of 
unselfish  service  are  supplanting  the  earlier  ideals 
which  regarded  official  life  as  a profession  to  be  prose- 
cuted for  the  benefit  of  oneself  and  family.  The  rapid 
recent  growth  of  patriotism,  the  substitution  of  the 
national  for  the  family  ideal,  the  frequent  exhortations 
of  Yuan  Shih  Kai  against  official  corruption,  all  reen- 
forced by  recent  acts  in  the  punishment  of  corruption, 
remind  one  of  a similar  course  taken  by  the  Chinese 
government  some  years  ago  against  the  growth  of  the 
poppy  and  the  use  of  opium,  and  furnish  some  ground 


CHINESE  LAW  287 

of  hope  that  in  China  a movement  is  setting  in  against 
official  and  judicial  corruption  similar  to  the  move- 
ment which  is  sweeping  opium  out  of  the  nation.  Stu- 
dents of  recent  Chinese  affairs  know  that  not  only 
have  good  officials  been  frequently  mentioned  by  name, 
and  some  of  them  decorated  with  honors,  and  bad  offi- 
cials warned,  but  that  three  high  officials.  Yen  Feng 
Kang,  Tao  Chih  Fu,  and  Ku  Chi  Huang,  have  been 
severely  punished  for  corruption;  while  one  official, 
Lu  Tsing  Hsi,  has  been  executed  for  accepting  bribes. 
Moreover,  the  nation  was  stirred  in  October,  1914, 
when  Lieutenant-General  Wang  Chih  Hsiang,  an  old 
and  loyal  friend  of  Yuan  Shih  Kai,  was  convicted  of 
official  corruption.  The  court  found  this  corruption  at- 
tended by  circumstances  of  such  cruelty  and  tyranny 
that  the  offense  under  Chinese  law  was  death;  and  the 
lower  court  affixed  the  death  penalty,  writing  after  it, 
“Subject  to  revision.”  The  case  with  the  report  of 
these  aggravating  circumstances  was  sent  to  the  Board 
of  Punishments,  or  Supreme  Court,  in  Peking.  The 
Supreme  Court  found  Yuan  Shih  Kai’s  old  friend 
guilty,  and,  in  view  of  the  aggravated  circumstances 
accompanying  his  crimes,  the  court  felt  compelled  to 
confirm  the  death  penalty.  While  many  believed  that 
Wang  Chih  Hsiang  would  lose  much  of  his  ill-gotten 
wealth,  officials  lit'tle  dreamed  that  he  would  be 
executed.  According  to  law,  the  sentence  was  sub- 
mitted to  Yuan  Shih  Kai  for  his  final  approval  or 
modification.  Before  Wang  Chih  Hsiang’s  friends 
could  lodge  a plea  for  mercy.  Yuan  Shih  Kai  wrote 
under  the  sentence,  “Let  him  be  shot  immediately” ; 
and  the  next  morning  at  daylight  the  dumfounded 


288  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


official  was  carried  to  the  execution  grounds,  his  face 
drawn  and  distorted  with  horror,  and  there  he  was 
summarily  shot.  It  is  said  that  Yuan  Shih  Kai  shed 
tears  over  the  death  of  his  friend,  but  declared  that, 
at  whatever  cost,  corruption  must  be  uprooted.  Public 
sentiment  is  even  stronger  against  judicial  corruption 
than  against  the  use  of  opium,  because  corruption 
benefits  only  a few,  while  the  indulgence  of  opium  was 
enjoyed  by  a multitude.  Hence,  although  corruption 
is  still  flourishing,  it  is  at  least  possible,  that  within 
a few  years  this  abuse  may  be  disappearing  from 
China  as  rapidly  as  the  use  of  opium  is  disappearing 
to-day. 

We  must  anticipate  the  disappearance  of  social  re- 
sponsibility for  crime  in  the  near  future.  Along  with 
the  increase  of  individualism,  the  Chinese  people  may 
expect  the  practical  acceptance  of  the  freedom  of  the 
press  and  of  freedom  for  women.  These  reforms  will 
be  attended  in  the  beginning  by  a recrudescence  of 
crime.  But  the  inevitable  abuse  of  freedom,  until  the 
people  learn  its  proper  use,  is  no  justification  for  with- 
holding this  boon  from  the  common  people.  The 
Chinese,  with  their  strong  sense  of  social  order,  with 
their  ingrained  respect  for  the  high  ideals  inculcated 
by  Confucianism,  with  their  large  common  sense  and 
their  love  of  peace,  will  adapt  themselves  to  the  larger 
freedom  of  the  twentieth  century;  and  they  will  build 
up  on  the  splendid  foundations  already  existing  a 
system  of  legislation  which  will  compare  favorably 
with  that  of  any  Western  nation.  Surely,  this  will  be 
true  if  Chinese  law  is  modified  by  the  influence  of  the 
Christian  religion  and  if  the  Chinese  people  experience 


CHINESE  LAW 


289 


the  power  of  an  indwelling  Christ  even  to  the  moderate 
extent  to  which  Christianity  has  affected  the  legisla- 
tion and  purified  the  administration  of  justice  in  the 
Western  world. 

Books  for  Reference 

Alabaster,  Ernest:  Notes  and  Commentaries  on  Chinese 
Criminal  Law,  Together  with  a Brief  Excursus  on  Law  and 
Property.  Jemigan,  T.  R. : China  in  Law  and  Commerce. 
Morse,  H.  B. : The  Gilds  of  China.  Parker,  E.  II. : Ancient 
China  Simplified.  Simcox,  Miss:  Primitive  Civilization.  Pig- 
gott.  Sir  Francis:  Letters  on  the  Chinese  Constitution.  Staun- 
ton, Sir  George:  The  Penal  Code  of  China.  Werner,  E.  T.  C. : 
Descriptive  Sociology  of  the  Chinese.  Williams,  E.  T. : Trans- 
lation of  Recent  Chinese  Legislation  Relating  to  Commerce, 
Railways,  and  Mining  Enterprises. 


CHAPTER  XII 


POLITICAL  LIFE  IN  CHINA 

It  matters  little  whether  the  principles  which  the 
political  history  of  China  reveals  first  emerged  at  the 
dates  usually  assigned  by  Werner,  some  two  thousand 
years  before  Christ,  or  at  such  later  dates  as  Hirth 
and  Giles  name.  The  undisputed  facts  are  that  the 
principles  of  Chinese  government  emerged  early  in 
Chinese  history,  and  that  they  have  largely  molded 
the  subsequent  life  of  the  nation. 

Two  main  questions  which  arise  in  the  study  of 
human  governments  are : ( i ) What  does  the  govern- 
ment exact  from  the  individual  in  taxes  for  its  support, 
and  how  far  does  it  abridge  personal  liberty  in  the 
exercise  of  its  powers?  (2)  What  safety  of  person 
and  property  and  what  aids  to  living  does  the  govern- 
ment furnish  the  individual  in  return?  In  general, 
China  has  never  exacted  large  tolls  from  the  masses 
in  the  way  of  taxes,  and  she  has  never  greatly  in- 
fringed upon  the  personal  liberties  of  any  large  num- 
ber of  peaceable  subjects.  Both  of  these  statements 
are  contrary  to  the  general  opinion  in  regard  to 
Chinese  government,  and  yet  we  believe  that  a careful 
examination  of  Chinese  history  will  vindicate  them. 
Upon  the  other  side,  while  Chinese  society  is  so  organ- 
ized that  persons  and  property  have  been  quite  as  safe 
as  in  most  civilized  countries,  the  government  has  con- 
tributed almost  nothing,  in  the  way  of  roads,  schools, 

2QO 


POLITICAL  LIFE  IN  CHINA  291 

and  public  improvements  for  the  advantage  of  the 
people.  In  a word,  we  should  say  that  civil  govern- 
ment bulks  smaller  in  China  than  in  almost  any  other 
modern  nation.  These  views  will  become  clearer  from 
a fuller  study  of  Chinese  government. 

Theoretically,  Chinese  government  is  a despotism 
pure  and  simple.  Practically  the  authority  of  the 
emperor  is  limited  by  many  restrictions.  Theoreti- 
cally, the  emperor  always  has  been  supreme.  He  has 
been  regarded  not  only  as  the  father  and  mother  of 
his  people  but  as  the  Son  of  Heaven  or  of  God  and 
the  vicegerent  of  God,  and  as  such  theoretically  he  has 
always  enjoyed  the  right  to  exercise  full  power  not 
only  over  the  property  but  also  over  the  liberties  and 
lives  of  his  people.  As  the  representative  of  Heaven, 
not  only  the  Chinese  but  all  other  nations  were 
assumed  to  occupy  a subordinate  relation  to  his  impe- 
rial majesty.  As  the  representative  of  Heaven,  the 
Chinese  emperor  has  freely  exercised  the  power  of 
exalting  and  degrading  his  dead  subjects  in  their  rela- 
tions in  the  other  world  as  well  as  controlling  the  liv- 
ing in  their  relations  in  the  present  world.  That  the 
imperial  authority  has  stretched  itself  beyond  all 
human  bounds  is  shown  in  the  chapter  on  the  “Relig- 
ious Life  and  Struggles”  of  the  Chinese. 

I.  The  fundamental  modification  of  this  theoretical 
despotism  arises  from  the  fact  that  the  Chinese 
government  is  largely  patriarchal  in  form,  and  also 
in  substance.  The  family  has  been  the  unit  of  society 
and  of  government  in  China  from  the  earliest  history 
of  the  Chinese;  and  the  family  has  continued  as  the 
unit  of  society  down  to  the  present  time,  and  is  only 


292  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

now  being  displaced  as  the  unit  of  government.  The 
Chinese  government  has  never  been  in  practice  such 
an  irresponsible  despotism  as  Western  writers  have 
frequently  represented  it  to  be,  because  the  emperor’s 
authority,  in  the  Chinese  phrase,  is  that  of  “father  and 
mother  of  his  people.”  But  the  father,  in  the  very 
nature  of  the  case,  is  supposed  to  love  his  family,  and 
to  guide  them  wisely,  and  to  promote  their  highest 
interests.  This  conception  of  the  emperor  gives  him 
upon  the  one  side  complete  control,  but  demands 
upon  the  other  side  the  use  of  this  authority  in  a 
fatherly  fashion.  A Chinese  proverb  says : 

The  Emperor  is  the  father  of  his  people. 

Not  a master  to  be  served  by  slaves. 

2.  In  addition  to  this  view,  or  as  Meadows^  claims 
in  contradistinction  to  this  view,  civil  government  in  , 
China  rests  upon  moral  agency  rather  than  upon  patri-  ; 
archal  authority.  The  Chinese  never  have  drawn  the 
distinction  between  government  by  moral  influence, 
and  civil  government  as  resting  in  the  final  analysis 
upon  military  force.  Upon  the  contrary,  they  main- 
tain that  the  most  potent  and  lasting  influence  of  a sov- 
ereign springs  from  his  example,  and  that  if  any 
sovereign  lives  a righteous  life,  his  people  will  be-  I 
come  a righteous  nation.  This,  according  to  Mead-  ] 
ows,  is  the  fundamental  conception  of  government  i 
in  China — a conception  in  which  Lao  Tzii,  Buddha,  t 
and  Confucius  agree  and  which  Mencius  fully  con-  f 
firms.  Moreover,  Meadows  holds  that  the  long  life  I 
of  the  Chinese  nation  is  due  to  three  principles : ( i ) f' 


• Meadows,  T.  T.:  The  Chinese  and  Their  Rebellions,  pp.  400-404. 


POLITICAL  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


293 


The  nation  must  be  governed  by  moral  agency  in 
preference  to  physical  force.  (2)  The  services 
of  the  wisest  and  ablest  men  in  the  nation  secured 
by  civil  service  examinations  are  indispensable  to 
good  government.  (3)  The  people  have  a right 
to  depose  a sovereign  who,  either  from  active  wicked- 
ness or  vicious  indolence,  gives  rise  to  oppressive  and 
tyrannical  rule.  Meadows  maintains  that  under  the 
patriarchal  principle  the  son  never  has  the  right  to 
resist  his  father,  no  matter  how  cruel  or  tyrannical  the 
father  may  be,  but  that  one  of  the  oldest  and  most 
deeply  rooted  national  doctrines  is  the  right  of  rebel- 
lion and  of  killing  a tyrannical  ruler.  He  contends 
that  the  three  principles,  namely,  government  by  moral 
example,  securing  the  ablest  men  for  officials  by  com- 
petitive examinations,  and  the  right  of  the  people  at 
any  time  to  depose  and  put  to  death  a wicked 
sovereign,  are  the  cause  of  thfe  long  life  of  the  Chinese 
nation.  Meadows  lays  undue  emphasis  upon  the  value 
of  civil  service  examination;  as  a matter  of  fact,  as 
seen  in  the  chapter  on  “Educational  Life  in  China,” 
despite  civil  service  examinations,  or  rather,  because 
of  civil  service  examinations,  Chinese  government 
became  corrupt.  Nevertheless,  IMeadows’s  view  is 
largely  correct,  and  this  view  removes  Chinese  gov- 
ernment far  from  an  absolute  despotism. 

3.  No  emperor  has  been  omnipresent.  Either  he 
has  been  forced  to  remain  at  the  capital  and  send  forth 
his  decrees  to  the  ends  of  the  empire  and  trust  their 
enforcement  to  his  representatives,  or  else  he  has  spent 
his  time  traveling  over  the  empire  in  order  to  learn 
exactly  how  his  representatives  were  ruling  in  his 


294  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

name.  If  he  remained  at  the  capital,  he  was  neces- 
sarily limited  in  his  knowledge  as  to  how  his  decrees 
were  being  carried  out.  If  he  traveled  through  the 
empire,  in  his  absence  the  imperial  authority  remained 
largely  in  abeyance,  or  was  exercised  by  ministers.  In 
either  case  a limit  to  despotic  power  arises  from  the 
physical  limitations  of  the  emperor. 

4.  The  empire  has  often  been  involved  in  a life-and- 
death  conflict  with  another  nation,  or  in  formidable  up- 
risings within  the  nation  when  the  continuance  or 
downfall  of  the  throne  was  being  settled  upon  the 
battlefield.  These  battlefields  were  often  distant  from 
the  capital.  Here,  again,  the  emperor  was  obliged  to 
decide  whether  he  would  go  with  the  army  or  remain 
at  the  capital,  and  there  exercise  general  control  over 
the  nation.  While,  theoretically,  he  was  regarded  as 
having  all  military  as  well  as  all  civil  authority,  yet 
if  he  remained  at  the  dapital  in  order  to  control  the 
nation  as  a whole,  he  was  confronted  by  a twofold 
danger — that  of  losing  the  empire  through  the  loss 
of  the  battle,  and  that  of  yielding  authority  a little 
later  to  a successful  general  who  had  won  the  hearts 
of  the  army  through  his  victory  upon  the  battlefield. 

5.  Another  limitation,  less  dramatic  but  even  more 
effective,  has  arisen  through  the  emperor’s  lack  of 
omnipotence.  Theoretically,  he  may  indeed  control 
every  act  upon  the  part  of  every  person  within  his 
empire.  Practically,  it  is  impossible  for  him  to  exer- 
cise this  authority  in  one  case  in  a million,  or  even 
to  know  in  one  case  in  a hundred  how  the  authority  is 
exercised  by  his  representatives.  Hence  we  find  that 
as  early  as  the  Chow  dynasty,  B.C.  1 122,  this  authority 


POLITICAL  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


295 


was  intrusted  to  six  boards,  the  heads  of  which  were 
expected  to  carry  out  the  will  of  the  emperor  in  the 
departments  assigned  to  them.  These  boards  were 
substantially  as  follows:  Prime  Minister,  Board  of 
Education,  Board  of  Religion,  Board  of  War,  Board 
of  Crime,  Board  of  Public  Works.  Every  minister 
came  in  some  measure  into  personal  contact  with  those 
over  whom  the  decrees  were  made  efifective,  and  he 
was  sobered  by  the  responsibility  of  executing  them; 
he  often  discovered  difficulties  of  which  the  emperor 
was  ignorant  in  the  way  of  literal  enforcement  of 
decrees,  or  reasons  for  gradual  obedience  upon  the 
part  of  subjects.  Moreover,  the  minister  knew  that 
his  popularity  as  a representative  of  the  emperor  and 
his  ability  to  remain  in  office  depended  upon  the  lack 
of  friction  with  which  his  office  was  administered  and 
the  decrees  of  the  emperor  enforced.  He  well  knew 
that  in  case  of  any  general  upheaval  upon  the  part  of 
the  people  he  would  be  made  the  scapegoat  and  would 
suffer  the  loss  of  his  office  and  probably  of  his  head, 
while  the  emperor  would  be  held  blameless  on  the 
ground  that  the  minister  had  outrun  the  imperial 
wishes.  Despotism  is  thus  often  paralyzed  by  the 
lack  of  omnipresence  and  omnipotence  upon  the  part 
of  its  author. 

6.  From  the  earliest  ages  before  issuing  decrees 
the  emperor  was  expected  to  consult  the  ministers  who 
must  enforce  them.  He  was  thus  obliged  to  govern 
in  some  measure  in  accordance  with  ministerial  advice. 
So  large  was  the  authority  often  exercised  by  min- 
isters, that  Confucius  warned  China  of  the  danger  of 
usurpation  of  authority  upon  their  part.  Mencius,  on 


296  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


the  other  side,  warned  China  of  the  danger  of  em- 
perors acting  without  suitable  consultation  with  their 
ministers.  Each  warning  was  needed,  and  out  of  this 
double  warning,  and  out  of  the  long  experience  of  the 
Chinese  nation  in  dealing  with  these  problems,  there 
grew  up  a twofold  conviction : first,  the  supremacy  of 
the  emperor  in  the  last  resort;  second,  the  obligation 
of  the  emperor  to  hear  and  give  good  heed  to  the  advice 
of  his  ministers  before  issuing  any  decrees  binding 
upon  the  nation,  and  calling  upon  these  ministers  to 
execute  it. 

7.  A far  higher  restriction  of  despotism  was  found 
in  the  codes  of  Chinese  law  discussed  in  the  preceding 
chapter.  While  the  emperor,  theoretically,  was  the 
source  of  all  authority,  nevertheless  he  was  bound  to 
rule  in  accordance  with  a code.  Unless  he  proclaimed 
a code  or  accepted  the  code  already  proclaimed  by  his 
predecessor,  his  will  could  not  be  known  to  the  utter- 
most bounds  of  his  empire.  But  the  moment  he 
adopted  the  code  of  his  predecessor  or  issued  a new 
code,  the  emperor  himself,  as  well  as  his  subjects,  was 
limited  by  that  code.^  As  has  already  been  pointed  out 
in  the  chapter  on  Chinese  law,  the  code  consisted  of 
two  portions : The  Lu,  or  laws  coming  down  from  pre- 
ceding emperors,  and  the  Li,  embracing  such  modifi- 
cations or  additions  to  the  code  as  the  new  emperor 
thought  necessary  in  order  to  adapt  the  ancient  laws 
to  the  existing  conditions  of  the  state.  The  emperor 
was  not  at  liberty  to  disregard  the  codes  adopted  by 
his  predecessors.  Indeed,  Meadows®  declares  that  the 


’Williams,  S.  Wells:  The  Middle  Kingdom,  vol.  i,  p.  384. 

* Meadows,  T.  T.:  The  Chinese  and  Their  Rebellions,  p.  119. 


POLITICAL  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


297 


Chinese  codes  of  law  throughout  the  history  of  the 
nation  have  been  national  rather  than  dynastic. 
Wylie^  speaks  of  one  division  of  the  historic  books 
known  as  the  Ching  Shu,  or  “Treatise  on  the  Consti- 
tution,” which  did  for  China  what  case  law  does  in 
Western  countries.  It  furnished  the  emperor  the  pre- 
cedents which  had  been  maintained  upon  almost  every 
possible  subject  of  administration,  and  the  precedents 
which  had  been  set  aside,  and  furnished  the  reasons 
which  had  been  given  for  this  final  disposition  of 
former  cases.  Wylie  speaks  of  two  hundred  and  forty- 
four  volumes  of  such  cases  “commencing  with  the 
earliest  period  of  history  and  continuing  down  to  the 
middle  of  the  eighteenth  century.”  Again,  he  de- 
scribes these  volumes  of  precedents  as  constituting 
“one  of  the  most  complete  and  masterly  works  of  the 
kind  ever  issued.”  Such  a work  shows  clearly  that  in 
practice  China  has  been  far  removed  from  an  irre- 
sponsible despotism.  Still,  again,  Wylie  speaks  of  this 
library  of  precedents  and  of  the  various  published 
codes  as  the  “constitutional  means  for  solidifying  and 
unifying  the  legislation  and  the  public  sentiment  of 
China  through  restricting  imperial  authority  within 
legal  precedents.”  Whatever  may  be  the  theoretical 
view  of  imperial  authority,  in  practice  throughout  her 
long  history  surely  the  Chinese  have  been  far  removed 
from  the  pure  despotism. 

8.  Another  method  of  influencing  the  emperor  was 
adopted  during  the  Han  dynasty,  and  consisted  of 
making  one  of  the  ministers  the  historiographer  of 
the  empire.  It  was  his  duty  to  keep  a daily  record  of 


‘ Wylie,  Alexander:  Notes  on  Chinese  Literature,  p.  68. 


298  CHINA;  AN  INTERPRETATION 

the  conferences  of  the  king  with  his  ministers  and 
to  record  the  decision  which  the  ministers  reached  on 
the  one  side,  and  on  the  other  the  attitude  toward 
this  decision  taken  by  the  emperor,  and  the  decrees 
which  the  emperor  issued  in  accordance  with  or  in 
contravention  of  the  advice  of  his  ministers.  This 
book  with  its  frank  revelation  of  the  inner  life  of  the 
imperial  administration  was  never  to  be  read  by  the 
emperor,  and  was  to  be  published  only  at  the  close 
of  the  dynasty.  The  emperor’s  knowledge  that  in  the 
most  solemn  conferences  with  his  ministers,  and  in 
his  lightest  conduct,  all  his  decisions  and  acts  and  the 
motives  which  prompted  them  were  being  faithfully 
recorded  for  the  judgment  of  posterity  tended  to  re- 
press despotism  and  promote  just  conduct  upon  the 
part  of  any  man  who  was  at  all  sensitive  to  criticism, 
or  cared  for  the  approbation  of  future  generations. 
We  have  also  many  proofs  in  Chinese  history  of  the 
honesty  and  fidelity  of  this  group  of  men  in  recording 
the  evil  deeds  as  well  as  the  glorious  acts  of  the  sov- 
ereigns under  whom  they  lived,  and  of  the  influence 
which  this  daily  record  had  in  restraining  tyranny. 
And  this  office  has  continued  down  to  the  present  time. 

9.  Along  with  the  ministers  who  served  as  the  ad- 
visers of  the  emperor,  we  find  appearing  early  in 
Chinese  history  a Board  of  Censors,  a body  of  men 
especially  selected  to  rebuke  the  emperor  or  his  min- 
isters for  maladministration.  This  board  also  has 
continued  down  to  the  present  time  and  over  and  over 
again  has  discharged  an  heroic  part  in  the  history  of 
China. 

Summing  up  the  restrictions  upon  despotism,  we 


POLITICAL  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


299 

find  tliat  in  the  fundamental  conception  of  the  emperor 
as  the  father  and  mother  of  his  people,  in  the  other 
fundamental  conception  that  sovereignty  rests  upon 
moral  influence  rather  than  upon  military  force,  in  the 
emperor’s  lack  of  omnipresence  and  omnipotence,  in 
the  necessity  inhering  in  his  limitations  of  dividing  his 
authority  with  a Board  of  Ministers,  in  the  necessity 
of  issuing  a code  of  law  in  order  that  his  will  may  be 
made  known  throughout  the  empire,  the  necessity  of 
observing  this  code  himself  as  well  as  demanding  obe- 
dience throughout  the  nation  after  it  was  once  pro- 
mulgated, and  in  the  fact  that  the  code  was  national 
rather  than  personal  in  its  character,  in  the  possession 
of  a historiographer,  and  in  the  Board  of  Censors,  the 
Chinese  imperial  rule  is  hedged  about  with  so  many 
limitations  as  in  some  measure  to  transform  the  empire 
into  a constitutional  form  of  government,  but  with 
large  gaps  left  for  personal  caprice  and  oppression. 

Moreover,  China  has  derived  some  remarkable  bene- 
fits from  the  large  authority  centered  in  the  single 
ruler  of  a great  empire.  In  time  of  war  such  author- 
ity becomes  almost  a necessity  for  the  largest  military 
efficiency,  and  probably  the  exercise  of  this  immense 
authority  has  developed  in  China  a larger  number  of 
truly  great  rulers  than  any  other  nation  in  history 
can  claim.  Also,  the  large  authority  centered  in  one 
man  in  China  has  given  him  power  to  accomplish 
great  reforms  in  a comparatively  short  time.  The  de- 
cree in  the  twelfth  century  B.  C.®,  denouncing  drunken- 
ness as  treason  on  the  ground  that  its  spread  would 
lead  to  the  downfall  of  the  kingdom  and  of  civilization. 


* Weraer,  E.  T.  C.:  Descriptive  Sociology  of  the  Chinese,  Table  II,  col.  7. 


300  CHINA;  AN  INTERPRETATION 

and  ordering  all  manufacturers,  sellers,  and  drinkers 
of  intoxicants  put  to  death;  the  repetition  of  that 
decree  by  subsequent  sovereigns,®  so  that  China  has 
remained  the  soberest  nation  in  history ; the  abolition 
of  opium  by  imperial  decrees,  sustained  by  public  senti- 
ment, and  the  decree  against  slavery  issued  by  Prince 
Chun  in  1909 — though  not  yet  fully  carried  out — all 
illustrate  the  great  ease  with  which  evils  can  be  legally 
abolished  by  imperial  decrees.  China’s  success  in  war 
and  in  such  reforms  as  she  has  earnestly  undertaken 
to  accomplish  has  been  due  in  part  to  the  large  au- 
thority which  she  has  centered  in  the  emperor,  but  with 
a paralysis  of  all  individual  initiative  in  governmental 
affairs  outside  the  imperial  will. 

But  subjects  are  concerned  not  simply  with  the  in- 
terference of  the  government  with  freedom  but  with 
its  interference  with  incomes.  From  the  date  of  the 
Chow  dynasty,  B.  C.  1122,  revenues  for  the  support  of 
the  government  have  been  derived  from  the  tax  on 
land,  usually  not  expected  to  exceed  two  per  cent  of 
the  value  of  the  crops ; from  a duty  on  iron  and  salt, 
on  silk,  on  the  minting  of  currency,  and  on  tea.  This 
last  tax  has  been  imposed  since  A.  D.  793^  and  is  one 
cause  of  the  loss  of  the  tea  market  by  China  to  India 
and  to  other  countries.  In  recent  years  China  has  also 
derived  a five  per  cent  tax  from  imports  and  a far 
larger  tax  called  “likin”  from  the  importation  of 
goods  into  provinces,  and  in  some  cases  into  pre- 
fectures and  into  cities.  She  has  also  derived  some 
means  for  the  support  of  the  government,  or  perhaps 


• Bashford,  James  W.:  Notes,  bk.  30,  p.  69. 

’ Werner,  E.  T.  C.:  Descriptive  Sociology  of  the  Chinese,  Table  V,  col.  6. 


POLITICAL  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


301 


rather  for  the  enrichment  of  the  governing  bodies,  by 
levies  upon  the  rich,  upon  officials,  by  graft  and  by 
tribute  imposed  upon  subject  nations.  She  has  also 
received  a population  tax  paid  by  the  various  provinces 
for  the  support  of  the  central  government,  though  we 
think  the  governor  has  been  expected  to  pay  this  popu- 
lation tax  from  the  land  revenues  and  that  no  direct 
poll  tax  is  levied  on  the  people.  In  general,  the  system 
of  taxation  in  recent  years  has  not  been  especially  bur- 
densome upon  the  masses  of  the  people,  though  graft 
to  an  exceedingly  burdensome  degree  has  been  levied 
upon  persons  held  in  jail  awaiting  trial  or  remanded 
for  punishment  after  their  conviction  for  crime. 

This  system  of  taxation  and  of  corruption  has  been 
in  vogue  from  perhaps  a thousand  years  before  Christ 
down  to  the  present  time.  Despite  all  the  corruption 
which  attends  their  collection  and  administration,  the 
taxes  of  China  are  far  lighter  to-day  than  the  taxes 
of  Japan  and  of  most  Western  countries.  This  is 
perhaps  due  to  the  fact  that  no  offense  would  so  speed- 
ily cause  a revolution  among  the  Chinese  as  the  im- 
position upon  them  of  additional  taxes.  Increase  of 
taxes  has  been  a fruitful  cause  of  the  downfall  of 
dynasties  and  of  the  downfall  of  countless  Chinese 
officials.  Often  there  has  been  an  attempt  to  conceal 
taxation  through  debasing  metallic  currency,  or 
through  an  overissue  of  paper  currency.  This  was  one 
cause  of  the  downfall  of  the  Sung  dynasty,  of  the 
Mongol  dynasty,  and  of  the  Ming  dynasty. 

Another  marked  feature  of  the  Chinese  government, 
though  by  no  means  peculiar  to  that  government,  is 
the  long  struggle  between  feudalism  and  nationalism. 


302  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

or  between  the  barons  and  the  emperor.  The  struggle 
began  at  least  a thousand  years  before  Christ.  Con- 
fucius, who  lived  B.  C.  551-478,  exerted  his  strong  in- 
fluence in  favor  of  a central  government  as  over 
against  the  feudal  governments  of  his  time.  He  thus 
helped  to  transform  China  into  a nation.  In  B.  C.  535 
Hsiang  Shu  (or  Heang  Seuh)  attempted  to  form  a 
truce  between  the  contending  parties  in  this  struggle 
by  the  establishment  of  a Peace  League  and  the  aboli- 
tion of  war.  The  Peace  League  failed  in  part  at 
least,  because  it  was  brought  forward  with  selfish  and 
ambitious  motives,  and  aimed  to  secure  the  headship 
of  the  empire  for  the  state  to  which  Hsiang  Shu  be- 
longed, and  the  personal  leadership  of  Hsiang  Shu  in 
that  state. 

The  triumph  of  nationalism  over  feudalism  in  this 
early  struggle  was  due,  first,  to  the  sufferings  of  the 
farmers  from  the  petty  exactions  of  their  feudal  lords, 
from  the  foragings  of  robbers,  and  from  feudal  wars; 
second,  to  the  ability  of  the  national  officers  secured 
through  competitive  examinations ; third,  to  the  exist- 
ence of  one  written  language  throughout  China  and 
to  the  common  ideals  which  then  prevailed  among  the 
literary  class ; fourth,  to  the  all-embracing  moral  sys- 
tem of  Confucius,®  and  especially  from  his  efforts  to 
strengthen  the  central  government.  While  Mencius, 
one  hundred  years  after  Confucius,  guarded  against 
the  tyranny  of  the  central  government  better  than  did 
his  master,  yet  he  too  favored  nationalism  as  over 
against  feudalism,  and  these  two  Sages  of  China  have 
exercised  a vast  influence  in  favor  of  the  national  ideal. 


" See  Oxenham’s  Atlas,  Preface,  p.  ii,  quoted  in  Werner,  p.  43,  col.  1. 


POLITICAL  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


303 


The  immediate  triumph  of  nationalism  was  due  to  Shih 
Hwang-ti,  the  Napoleon  of  China,  who  overthrew  the 
feudal  states,  transformed  China  into  a nation,  and 
took  the  title  of  Emperor  the  First.  He  built  the  Great 
Wall  as  a defense  against  Mongolian  horsemen  armed 
with  bows  and  arrows,  and  he  attempted  to  destroy 
the  literature  of  China  because  the  scholars  tried  to 
check  his  despotism  and  quoted  the  Classics  against 
him.  Although  his  persecution  of  the  literary  class 
has  made  his  name  despised  throughout  the  history  of 
China,  yet  the  nation  which  he  formed  numbered 
thirteen  million  seven  hundred  thousand  people  at  his 
death®  and  China  became  under  Shih  Hwang-ti  the 
strongest  nation  on  the  earth.  A reaction  immediately 
followed,  and  provinces  again  became  independent 
kingdoms  after  Shih  Hwang-ti’s  death.  But  the  Han 
dynasty,  B.  C.  206-A.  D.  221,  maintained  nationalism 
against  feudalism  by  the  justice  of  its  rule,  by  the  per- 
sonal strength  of  its  rulers,  and  by  the  fact  that  this 
dynasty  engaged  largely  in  foreign  wars  which  led  to 
a union  of  the  Chinese  under  their  warrior  emperors, 
and  again  consolidated  the  petty  kingdoms  of  China 
into  the  Chinese  nation.  But  the  period  following  the 
Hans,  A.  D.  221-589,  was  characterized  by  a great 
weakening  of  the  central  government,  and  such  a 
growth  of  feudalism  that  China  broke  up  into  three 
kingdoms:  viz.,  the  Wei  kingdom  in  the  north,  with 
its  capital  at  Kaifengfu  in  Honan;  the  Wu  kingdom 
in  the  south,  with  its  capital  at  Nanking;  and  the  Hsi 
kingdom  in  the  west,  with  its  capital  at  Hochow  in 
Szechwan.  This  period  was  characterized  not  only  by 


* Werner,  E.  T.  C.:  Descriptive  Sociology  of  the  Chinese,  p.  42,  col.  i. 


304  CHINA;  AN  INTERPRETATION 


the  break-up  of  the  empire  but  by  sixty-one  short- 
lived dynasties. 

A.  D.  589-960  is  the  glorious  period  of  the  T’angs. 
Under  the  T’ang  dynasty  feudalism  largely  decreased 
and  the  central  government  became  strong  again.  On 
the  weakening  of  the  T’ang  dynasty  and  the  reappear- 
ance of  feudalism  the  founder  of  the  Sung  dynasty 
grasped  the  scepter  from  the  last  of  the  T’ang  rulers 
and  founded  another  dynasty,  which  continued  the 
glorious  traditions  of  China  from  A.  D.  960-1127. 
Only  the  Sung,  the  T’ang,  and  the  Han  dynasties  are 
in  the  eyes  of  the  Chinese  worthy  to  be  compared  with 
the  golden  age  of  Yao  and  Shun  and  Yii — the  reigns 
which  were  glorified  by  Confucius  but  which  are 
wrapped  in  legendary  lore. 

Once  more  feudalism  revived  as  the  later  rulers  of 
the  Sung  dynasty  became  corrupt  and  weak ; and  there 
arose  a foreign  dynasty — the  Mongol,  or  Yuen, 
dynasty — under  Kublai  Khan  and  his  greater  son, 
Genghis  Kahn,  who  restored  the  national  ideal  and 
made  China  again  a great  empire,  ruling  from  the 
Pacific  to  the  Caspian.  The  same  struggle  between 
nationalism  and  feudalism  characterized  the  downfall 
of  the  Mongols  and  the  rise  of  the  Mings;  and  the 
downfall  of  the  Ming  dynasty  and  the  rise  of  the  Man- 
chu  dynasty;  and  on  the  downfall  of  the  Manchu 
dynasty  the  struggle  between  national  authority  and 
provincial  independence  has  reappeared. 

The  following  causes  help  account  for  the  weakness 
of  government  in  China. 

First.  Despite  the  strength  of  individual  rulers  and 
the  periods  of  remarkable  strength  upon  the  part  of 


1 


POUTTCAL  LIFE  IN  CHINA  ‘ 


305 


the  nation,  China  was  in  the  hands  of  an  alien  race 
from  A.  D.  1644  to  1911.  Moreover,  the  Manchu 
dynasty,  instead  of  allowing  its  people  freely  to  mingle 
with  the  Chinese  and  the  two  races  to  melt  together 
into  one  and  so  become  a strong  single  race,  has  main- 
tained the  isolation  of  Manchiis  and  forbidden  their 
intermarriage  with  the  Chinese.  Hence,  while  the 
dangers  confronting  the  dynasty  bred  a Kang-hi  and 
a Kien  Lung,  nevertheless  the  Manchu  consciousness 
of  weakness  and  the  knowledge  of  the  rulers  that  they 
were  not  a part  of  the  people  whom  they  ruled,  and 
that  their  three  or  four  hundred  million  Chinese  sub- 
jects were  not  backing  their  administration,  paralyzed 
the  government  and  made  it  weak. 

Second.  As  already  pointed  out,  the  family,  and  not 
the  individual,  has  been  the  unit  of  Chinese  society. 
This  has  resulted  in  devotion.to  the  family  rather  than 
loyalty  to  the  nation.  The  Chinese  who  became  offi- 
cials under  the  Manchu  dynasty  were  regarded  as 
were  the  publicans  and  tax-gatherers  among  the  Jews, 
and  in  return  used  their  positions  for  the  enrichment  of 
their  families  rather  than  for  the  service  of  the  gov- 
ernment or  of  the  people.  For  instance  Li  Hung- 
chang’s  salary  at  the  height  of  his  power  was  some 
1,540  taels,  or  $1,150  per  annuni.^®  Nevertheless,  at 
his  death  he  was  one  of  the  richest  men  in  China,  and 
one  of  the  rich  men  of  the  world.  Only  as  patriotism 
supplants  family  devotion  and  the  love  of  the  Chinese 
race  supplants  ancestral  worship,  will  China  become  a 
strong  nation.  Again,  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that 
the  father  and  mother  conception  of  government  grow- 


Secret  Memoirs  of  Count  Hayashi,  p.  272. 


3o6  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


ing  out  of  the  organization  of  Chinese  society  upon 
the  basis  of  the  family  has  weakened  individual  initi- 
ative and  has  led  the  people  to  rely  upon  officials  for 
all  leadership  in  governmental  affairs.  Hence,  while 
the  people  show  remarkable  initiative  in  individual 
business,  they  have  contributed  little  toward  the  up- 
building of  the  nation. 

Third.  China,  under  the  influence  of  Confucius, 
has  been  looking  backward  rather  than  forward  for 
the  last  twenty-four  hundred  years.  Benjamin  Kidd“ 
calls  attention  to  three  stages  in  civilization:  First, 
the  stage  of  authority  in  which  the  governing  motive 
lies  in  the  past.  Society  is  naturally  divided  into  the 
priests  and  the  prophets,  the  conservative  and  the 
progressive  parties,  and  the  conservatives  always 
quote  precedents,  are  governed  by  customs,  and  anchor 
authority  in  the  past.  Such  a civilization  never  be- 
comes progressive,  and  fails  to  adapt  itself  to  its  pres- 
ent and  to  its  advancing  environment.  Mr.  Kidd  calls 
attention,  second,  to  the  great  efforts  of  the  utilitarian 
philosophy  to  overthrow  authority  and  to  anchor  gov- 
ernment and  civilization  in  the  greatest  good  of  the 
greatest  number.  If  by  the  greatest  number  the  utili- 
tarians were  to  include  posterity,  their  ideal  could  be 
far  more  safely  followed.  But  with  the  greatest  num- 
ber embracing  simply  the  present  generation,  and  that 
generation  looking  to  present  happiness,  utilitarianism 
degenerates  into  epicureanism.  No  lofty  motives  for 
self-sacrifice  and  no  heroic  action  will  be  developed  by 
a utilitarian  philosophy.  If  the  old  Chinese  civilization 
is  doomed  because  it  was  anchored  solely  in  the  past, 


" Western  Civilization. 


POLITICAL  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


307 


Mr.  Kidd  points  out  that  utilitarianism  is  equally 
doomed  because  it  is  anchored  solely  in  the  present. 
Mr.  Kidd  maintains,  third,  that  Western  civilization, 
by  which  he  means  the  civilization  of  Europe  and  es- 
pecially of  the  United  States,  has  grown  by  leaps  and 
bounds  because  it  has  substituted  a future  goal  instead 
of  either  past  authority  or  present  indulgence.  He 
maintains  that  only  as  parents  look  forward  and  plan 
for  the  future  of  their  children,  only  as  children  deny 
themselves,  become  earnest  students  and  make 
preparation  for  future  careers,  is  family  progress  pos- 
sible ; that  only  as  states  and  nations  are  governed,  not 
by  authority  emanating  from  the  past  or  by  considera- 
tions of  comfort  and  pleasure  existing  in  the  present, 
but  by  ideals  demanding  the  future  for  their  realiza- 
tion, is  rapid  progress  possible.  A false  conservatism 
has  been  a striking  cause  of  the  weakness  of  the  Chi- 
nese nation. 

Fourth.  Another  cause  of  the  weakness  of  the 
Chinese  nation  has  been  her  isolation.  Set  off  from 
the  rest  of  the  world  by  geographical  causes  and  by 
Pharisaic  pride,  isolated  from  God  through  a loss  of 
monotheistic  worship,  the  Chinese  nation  has  suffered 
from  intellectual  and  spiritual  inbreeding.  Such  an  in- 
breeding  always  results  in  pride  and  self-sufficiency, 
and  pride  and  self-sufficiency  always  result  in  a sta- 
tionary civilization. 

A fifth  possible  and  probable  cause  of  the  weak- 
ness of  national  government  in  China  is  the  amount 
of  local  self-government  which  the  people  have  exer- 
cised from  immemorial  times.  For  this  reason,  the 
people  have  not  been  greatly  interested  in  the  national 


3o8  CHINA;  AN  INTERPRETATION 

government.  National  government  as  conducted  in  j 
China,  with  its  large  regard  for  local  self-government, 
concerned  the  people  vastly  less  than  in  most  Western 
lands.  The  two  points  of  vital  concern  were  the  main- 
tenance of  public  order  and  the  amount  of  taxes  col- 
lected. Whenever  a section  of  the  country  was  over- 
run or  threatened  by  invasion,  it  called  loudly  for 
national  help,  and  for  the  time  being  accepted  gladly 
imperial  direction.  But  local  order  was  largely  main- 
tained through  the  responsibility  of  an  entire  family 
for  the  crime  of  any  of  its  members.  Hence  the  taxes 
were  the  one  point  where  the  general  government  | 
came  into  vital  contact  with  the  people;  and  the  in-  I 

ternal  history  of  China  shows  that  at  this  point  the  I 

people  were  intensely  concerned.  In  a word,  the  gen-  : 
eral  government  in  China  did  not  confer  any  wide-  | 
spread  and  vital  benefit  upon  the  people.  Here  is  one  | 

of  the  deepest  causes  of  lack  of  popular  interest  in  the  < 

central  government,  and  especially  in  the  old  Manchu  f 
government,  and  of  the  consequent  weakness  of  po- 
litical institutions  in  China.  Whatever  may  be  the 
causes,  we  have  in  China  the  strange  phenomenon  of 
a people  of  remarkable  strength  and  initiative  in  all 
industrial,  commercial,  intellectual,  and  social  lines 
living  under  a government  whose  weakness  is  the 
amazement  of  all  students  of  political  affairs. 

The  immediate  form  which  government  in  China 
will  assume  and  the  functions  it  will  perform  will  de- 
pend in  part  upon  the  outcome  of  the  European  strug- 
gle. Yuan  Shill  Kai  is  deeply  impressed  with  the 
strength  and  efficiency  of  Germany.  Should  Germany 
temporarily  triumph  in  the  present  struggle,  Japan  and 


POLITICAL  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


309 


China  would  follow  largely  in  her  footsteps  and  not 
only  attempt  to  maintain  autocratic  rule  but  to  in- 
crease governmental  functions,  with  a consequent  de- 
crease of  individual  initiative  in  business.  One  cause 
of  the  great  superiority  in  governmental  efficiency  of 
Japan  over  China  is  the  fact  that  for  forty  years 
Japan  has  molded  her  government  on  the  German  pat- 
tern. But  this  has  also  been  one  cause  of  the  failure 
of  Japanese  business  men  in  competition  with  Chinese 
business  men  in  the  neutral  ports  of  the  Far  East.  Un- 
questionably, the  autocratic  is  the  superior  form  of 
government  during  the  progress  of  a war.  But  while 
nations  should  be  prepared  for  self-defense  and  should 
consent  to  the  suspension  of  some  civil  rights  during 
war,  nevertheless,  war  is  not  the  normal  state  of  the 
human  race.  The  advocates  of  autocracy  maintain 
that  if  nations  are  not  engaged  in  a military  struggle, 
they  are  in  a state  of  industrial  warfare,  and  that  an 
autocratic  form  of  government  adds  to  the  efficiency 
of  a nation  in  the  industrial  struggles  of  modern 
states.  If  this  theory  is  correct,  a despotic  form  of 
government  with  state  socialism  is  the  goal  of  civiliza- 
tion. No  large  and  sane  body  of  political  thinkers  ac- 
cepts this  philosophy.  China  tried  the  experiment  on 
a nation-wide  scale  in  the  thirteenth  century,  and  after 
trial,  China  rejected  it.  Considering  the  terrific  in- 
crease of  national  indebtedness  and  the  paralysis  of 
individual  initiative  in  business  in  Germany  and  Japan, 
the  people  of  the  United  States  are  surpassing  both  in 
material  gains,  while  enjoying  freedom  in  countless 
details  of  life  denied  to  their  brethren  across  the  seas. 

Above  all,  with  man’s  innate  and  ineradicable  love 


310  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


of  freedom,  even  were  militarism,  which  is  an  integral 
part  of  an  autocratic  form  of  government,  to  triumph 
temporarily  in  the  present  struggle,  it  would  no  more 
dominate  Europe  permanently  than  did  Napoleon 
after  the  victory  of  Leipsic.  Militarism,  whether  in 
the  form  of  a German  army,  or  a British  navy,  or  a 
French  Napoleon — militarism,  either  as  Japanese 
Shintoism,  or  Russian  autocracy,  or  the  white  races’ 
claim  to  dominate  this  globe,  is  doomed  under  a divine 
providence  in  which  God  has  made  of  one  blood  all  the 
nations  of  the  earth,  in  wEich  Christ  has  tasted  death 
for  every  man,  and  called  us  all  to  a common  brother- 
hood in  a heavenly  kingdom.  With  moral  freedom 
committed  to  man  by  God  as  the  essential  condition  of 
moral  responsibility,  and  with  political  freedom  as  the 
corollary  of  religious  freedom,  a European  autocracy 
would  be  followed  by  another  Reformation,  and  a re- 
ligious Reformation  would  be  followed  as  of  yore,  by 
the  growth  of  political  freedom.  The  human  race 
cannot  rest  either  in  the  political  anarchy  of  the  ex- 
treme pacifists,  or  in  the  political  and  industrial  despot- 
ism of  the  extreme  advocates  of  efficiency.  It  will  find 
peace  somewhere  along  the  line  of  the  golden  mean 
between  the  two. 

With  an  entire  reorganization  of  her  system  of  taxa- 
tion and  administration,  with  suitable  salaries  for  offi- 
cials and  the  abolition  of  all  forms  of  graft,  with  an 
extension  or,  rather,  introduction  of  education  by  the 
government  preparing  the  people  for  adaptation  to 
their  environment  and  for  participation  in  public  af- 
fairs, with  a gradual  grant  of  suffrage  so  that  the 
people  may  become  interested  and  intelligent  sharers 


POLITICAL  LIFE  IN  CHINA  31 1 

in  public  responsibilities,  with  the  maintenance  of  swift 
and  sure  justice  in  all  parts  of  the  nation;  with  the 
streng’thening  of  the  central  government,  so  that  the 
nation  may  maintain  her  integrity  and  sovereignty 
against  all  foreign  aggressors;  with  the  reorganiza- 
tion of  the  currency  and  tariff  laws;  and  with  the 
establishment  or,  at  least,  the  control  of  the  means  of 
transportation ; with  governmental  encouragement  of 
the  opening  of  her  mines ; with  scientific  hygiene,  af- 
forestation, agriculture  and  breeding  of  animals;  and, 
underlying  all,  with  a quickening  of  the  moral  life  of 
the  Chinese  by  vital  union  with  Jesus  Christ,  China  will 
yet  reach  that  stage  of  civilization  which  God  has  or- 
dained for  all  his  children. 

Books  for  Reference 

Same  as  for  the  preceding  chapter  with  the  following  addi- 
tions : Hayashi,  Count  Tadasu : Secret  Memoirs.  Kidd,  Ben- 
jamin: Western  Civilization.  Oxenham,  Atlas,  Preface,  p.  ii, 
quoted  in  Werner’s  Descriptive  Sociology  of  the  Chinese,  p. 
43>  col.  3. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

THE  DOWNFALL  OF  THE  MANCHUS 

No  government  will  better  repay  historical  study 
than  China.  The  story  is  as  interesting  as  romance, 
and  the  facts  are  necessary  for  the  understanding  of 
the  political  conditions  in  the  Far  East.  To  explain 
recent  history,  we  must  go  back  far  enough  to  see  how 
the  late  dowager  empress,  Tzu  Hsi  Yehonala,  came 
to  the  throne. 

We  have  drawn  upon  Messrs.  Bland  and  Backhouse 
for  most  of  the  materials  relating  to  the  romantic  ca- 
reer of  Tzu  Hsi.  This  chapter  is  largely  a summary 
of  their  volume  of  over  five  hundred  pages.  These 
men  announce  that  they  compiled  their  volume  largely 
from  the  State  Papers  of  China,  and  the  private  diary 
of  Ching  Shan,  who  was  for  many  years  comptroller 
of  the  household  of  the  empress  dowager,  and  was 
thus  familiar  with  the  inner  life  of  the  rulers.  This 
book  is  acquiring  increasing  weight  as  an  authority. 

To  begin  at  the  beginning,  Nurhachu,  who  founded 
the  Manchu  dynasty,  1644,  married  a maiden  whose 
family  name  was  Yehonala,  and  these  two  clans  sup- 
plied the  sovereigns  for  China  throughout  the  Man- 
chu reign.  So  far  as  blood  is  concerned,  the  late 
dynasty  descends  from  the  Yehonalas  as  fully  as  from 
the  Nurhachus.  But  female  blood  did  not  count 
among  the  Manchus;  the  descendants  upon  the  male 
side  alone  were  entitled  to  wear  the  Yellow  Girdle  of 
royalty,  while  the  members  of  the  Yehonala  clan  wore 

312 


DOWNFALL  OF  THE  MANCHUS  313 


the  Red  Girdle;  the  late  struggle  between  these  two 
clans  is  suggestive  of  the  Wars  of  the  Roses  in  Eng- 
land; though  the  “wholesome  fear  of  the  empress 
dowager’s  divine  wrath  prevented  any  definite  cleav- 
age.”^ 

In  Pewter  Lane,  near  the  Legation  quarter  of  Pe- 
king, there  was  born  in  1835  of  the  Yehonala  clan  a 
little  girl,  who  by  a strange  destiny  became  the  ruler 
of  China,  and  who  is  known  by  the  formal  name,  Tzu 
Hsi.  Among  her  childhood  playmates  was  a kinsman, 
Jung  Lu,  to  whom  by  common  report  Tzu  Hsi  was 
betrothed  from  birth.”  The  report  cannot  be  verified 
and  we  cannot  read  the  hearts  of  men,  and  especially 
of  women,  to  know  that  these  two  loved  each  other. 
But  they  showed  many  signs  of  lovers,  and  Jung  Lu 
was  devoted  throughout  his  life  to  Tzu  Hsi’s  plans; 
and  on  various  occasions  risked  his  life  for  her,  and 
quietly  exercised  great  influence  over  her.  The  course 
of  true  love  never  runs  smooth,  and  in  1852,  sixty  of 
the  fairest  maidens  of  the  Manchu  aristocracy  were 
summoned  to  court,  that  concubines  might  be  selected 
for  the  young  emperor  Hien  Feng.^  As  Tzu  LIsi  was 
beautiful  and  bright,  she  was  among  the  ones  selected, 
and  poor  Jung  Lu  was  left  desolate.  In  1856  Tzu  Hsi 
bore  the  emperor  his  only  son,  T’ung  Chi.  This  led 
to  her  advancement  to  a position  next  to  that  of  the 
empress  herself.  In  this  new  position  she  acquired 
great  influence  over  the  emperor,  took  a prominent 
part  in  advising  in  regard  to  affairs,  and  showed  far 
more  ability  and  spirit  in  dealing  with  the  Taiping  Re- 

* Bland,  J.  O.  P.,  and  Backhouse,  E.:  China  Under  the  Empress  Dowager, 
p.  3,  4.  * Ibid.,  p.  8.  ^ Ibid.,  p.  9. 


314  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

bellion  than  did  the  emperor  himself,  who  had  been 
stricken  with  paralysis.  The  enemies  of  Tzu  Hsi 
charged  that  her  love  for  Jung  Lu  never  ceased,  and 
that  the  young  captain  of  the  guards  in  charge  of  the 
palace  was  frequently  recognized  by  the  young  concu- 
bine of  the  emperor.^ 

In  i860  Peking  was  captured  by  the  British  and 
French,  and  Hsien  Feng  fled  to  Jehol,  taking  the  royal 
family  with  him.  It  is  possible  that  he  doubted  the 
fidelity  of  his  beautiful  and  forceful  concubine,  but  did 
not  care  to  antagonize  her  plans  until  he  was  beyond 
her  reach.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  possible  that  Hsien 
Feng  was  only  half  conscious,  and  knew  not  what  he 
did  when  his  hand  was  guided  by  others  to  sign  a de- 
cree appointing  three  regents  and  putting  the  little 
emperor.  Thing  Chi,  into  the  keeping  of  the  wife  of 
Prince  Yi,  chief  of  the  men  who  were  conspiring  for 
the  throne,'*  instead  of  leaving  him  in  the  care  of  his 
able  mother.  Again,  it  is  possible  that  with  the  indif- 
ference which  characterized  the  emperor  he  yielded  to 
the  persuasion  of  his  counselors  and  appointed  the 
regents  on  their  recommendation.  Giles®  and  Faber’ 
hold  that  the  eight  counselors,  including  the  regents, 
plotted  the  death  of  the  emperor’s  three  brothers,  of 
the  emperor’s  wife  and  of  Tzu  Hsi.  At  any  rate,  a 
few  hours  before  his  death,  in  1861,  Hien  Feng  signed 
the  decree  appointing  three  regents  and  committing 
T’ung  Chi  to  their  care. 

Tzu  Hsi  was  expected  by  dynastic  custom  and  court 

‘ Bland,  J.  O.  P.,  and  Backhouse.  E.:  China  Under  the  Empress  Dowager, 
p.  8.  ‘ Ibid.,  p.  33. 

» Giles.  Herbert  A.;  Chinese  Biographical  Dictionary.  Nos.  1019.  2114,  2116. 

’ Faber,  Ernst:  Chronological  Notes  for  a History  of  China,  p.  241. 


DOWNFALL  OF  THE  MANCHUS  315 

etiquette  to  reach  Peking  in  advance  of  the  regents 
and  of  the  royal  body  whicli  they  were  bringing  home 
for  burial.  This  would  give  her  an  advantage  over 
the  regents,  and  it  was  urged  by  Su  Shun,  the  strong- 
est of  the  conspirators,  that  she  should  be  assassinated 
on  the  journey.  But  she  was  accompanied  by  Jung 
Lu  and  his  faithful  band,  and  reached  the  capital  in 
safety.  Moreover,  Tzu  Hsi  had  concealed  the  royal 
seal  a few  days  before  the  emperor’s  death,  suspecting 
the  purpose  of  the  regents,  and  she  brought  it  to 
Peking  with  her.  The  imperial  stamp  is  absolutely 
essential  to  the  validity  of  any  supposed  decree  pro- 
duced after  an  emperor’s  death.  As  the  imperial  de- 
cree appointing  the  three  regents  was  not  stamped, 
Tzu  Hsi  insisted  that  it  was  never  really  issued  by 
Hien  Feng,  but  was  an  act  of  usurpation.  The  con- 
spirators had  committed  a fatal  blunder  in  permitting 
her  to  reach  Peking  in  advance  of  themselves.  She  ac- 
quainted Prince  Kung,  the  brother  of  Hien  Feng,  more 
fully  with  the  plot  of  the  counselors  to  put  him  and  her 
and  the  dowager  empress  to  death;  and  she  and  the 
Prince  appointed  Jung  Lu  in  charge  of  the  troops  in 
the  city.  As  the  regents  entered  the  northwest  gate 
with  the  body  of  the  emperor  they  were  quietly  appre- 
hended, denounced  as  usurpers,  and  Su  Shun,  the 
leader,  and  one  of  the  richest  men  in  China,  was 
promptly  executed  and  his  property  secured ; the  other 
two  regents  were  condemned  to  suicide ; the  remaining 
counselors  were  banished;  and  the  dowager  empress, 
Tzu  An,  with  Tzu  Hsi,  assumed  the  rule.  As  Tzu 
An  was  the  widow  of  the  late  emperor;  as  Tzu  Hsi 
had  borne  the  emperor  his  only  son;  as  her  advance- 


3i6  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

ment  next  to  that  of  the  empress  after  bearing  this  son 
was  in  accordance  with  Chinese  custom;  as  she  had 
demonstrated  her  ability  as  a strong  adviser,  and  the 
emperor  had  maintained  her  at  his  side  down  to  his 
death ; and  especially  as  the  imperial  decree  appointing 
the  three  regents  had  not  the  royal  seal,  the  leaders  of 
such  opinion  as  existed  in  China  were  inclined  to  re- 
gard the  act  of  the  supposed  regents  as  an  attempt  at 
usurpation.  At  any  rate,  China  peaceably  accepted 
Tzu  An  and  Tzu  Hsi  as  regents  during  the  minority 
of  T’ung  Chi. 

Meanwhile  Tzu  Hsi’s  appropriation  of  the  immense 
estate  of  Su  Shun  gave  her  ready  money  to  carry  out 
her  plans.  Thus  two  women,  nominally,  but  one  prac- 
tically, ruled  the  empire  as  regents  for  the  twelve  years 
from  i86i  to  1873.  Tzu  Hsi  had  picked  out  A Lu-te 
as  the  wife  for  T’ung  Chi;  she  saw  him  safely  mar- 
ried, and  placed  the  scepter  in  his  hands  when  he  was 
seventeen  years  of  age.  But  the  young  emperor  died 
in  the  second  year  of  his  reign,  a few  months  before 
his  wife  was  to  give  birth  to  an  heir.  Chinese  custom 
prescribed  a pause  in  announcing  the  future  ruler  of 
the  empire  awaiting  the  birth  of  this  child.  In  case  the 
child  was  not  a son  the  dynastic  law  governing  such 
cases  required  the  selection  of  Prince  Kung’s  son  as 
the  next  in  succession. 

But  Tzu  Hsi,  during  her  twelve  years  of  rule,  had 
grasped  the  reins  of  government  very  firmly  and  had 
become  a very  acceptable  ruler.  As  the  conditions 
were  perilous,  she  decided  not  to  wait  for  the  birth  of 
an  heir  before  selecting  a person  for  the  vacant  throne. 
She  also  passed  by  the  son  of  Prince  Kung  and  selected 


Reproduced  from  Harper's  Weekly. 

Emperor  of  China,  Kwang-su 

(See  Chapter  XIII) 


DOWNFALT.  OF  THF  MANCHUS  317 


Kwang’-sii,  son  of  liis  younger  brother  and  of  Tzu 
Hsi’s  favorite  sister,  as  emperor.  Prol)ably  this 
choice  of  the  heir  was  due  in  part  to  family 
pride  and  affection,  and  in  part  to  the  fact  that 
Kwang-su  was  only  three  years  old  and  offered  ample 
time  for  a second  regency ; whereas  Prince  Kung’s  son 
was  fifteen  or  sixteen  years  old  and  would  soon  come 
to  the  throne.  Li  Hung  Chang,  who  was  at  that  time 
the  leading  statesman  of  China,  heartily  approved  Tzu 
Hsi’s  choice,  and  through  his  support,  through  her 
own  popularity,  and  because  she  had  all  the  forces  of 
the  empire  at  her  disposal,  she  entered  successfully 
upon  a second  regency  which  lasted  for  fourteen  years. 
T’ung  Chi’s  widow  died  before  giving  birth  to  an  heir, 
and  the  complications  which  would  have  arisen  had  she 
given  birth  to  a son  were  thus  avoided.  Some  have 
hinted  that  a death  which  fell  out  so  opportunely  for 
Tzu  Hsi  may  have  been  brought  about  through  her 
instigation.  Certainly,  during  her  reign  she  put  to 
death  many  persons  whose  lives  threatened  her  power 
less  than  did  A Lu-te’s.  In  1881  the  dowager  empress, 
Tzu  An,  the  widow'  of  Hsien  Feng,  wdio  had  jointly 
ruled  with  Tzu  Hsi,  died.  No  suspicion  ever  attached 
to  Tzu  Hsi  wdth  reference  to  her  death,  inasmuch  as 
she  was  thoroughly  domestic  in  her  habits,  never  made 
the  slightest  attempt  to  rule  the  empire,  and  always 
indorsed  Tzu  Hsi’s  actions.  Hence  during  the  last 
years  of  her  regency  Tzu  Hsi  ruled  alone. 

But  it  wdll  be  remembered  that  Kwang-su,  of  both 
the  Yellow  Girdle  and  the  Red  Girdle  Clan,  was  the 
son  of  a younger  brother  of  Prince  Kung,  and  that 
under  the  laws  of  imperial  descent  the  throne  belonged 


3i8  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

to  Prince  Kung’s  son.  If  Kwang-su  grew  up  a con- 
servative and  followed  Manchu  precedent,  or  Chinese 
precedent  for  that  matter,  he  must  needs  surrender 
the  throne  to  the  son  of  Prince  Kung.  It  is  not  to  be 
wondered  at,  therefore,  that  by  training  and  inclina- 
tion, Kwang-su  grew  up  a liberal ; and  here  is  the  first 
point  where  this  strange  story  touches  upon  the  po- 
litical revolution  of  China. 

Some  of  Kwang-su’s  tutors,  including  Kang  Yii- 
Wei,  were  selected  from  Canton,  which  on  account  of 
its  long  commercial  connection  with  the  Western 
world  has  been  the  most  progressive  city  in  China.  At 
that  time  far  more  Cantonese  visited  the  Western 
world  and  returned  with  Western  ideas  than  people 
from  any  other  part  of  China.  Moreover,  some  of 
the  men  selected  as  tutors  and  advisers  of  Kwang-su 
had  become  political  radicals.  They  failed  to  grasp 
the  principles  of  political  evolution.  During  Kwang- 
su’s  reign,  1889-1898,  the  times  were  out  of  joint. 
The  Chinese  people  as  a whole  were  embittered 
against  foreign  aggression;  they  were  deeply  humili- 
ated by  their  defeat  in  the  war  with  Japan  in  1894-95 ; 
and  they  were  greatly  impressed  by  Japan’s  political 
progress.  Kwang-su  was  strongly  moved  by  a book 
on  Japanese  reforms.  These  conditions,  and  es- 
pecially the  threatened  partition  of  China  among  the 
Western  nations,  led  Kwang-su  to  feel  that  radical  ac- 
tion was  needed  in  order  to  save  the  nation.  As  there 
was  no  hope  in  bidding  for  the  support  of  his  fellow 
Manchus  unless  he  was  willing  to  follow  the  Manchu 
and  Chinese  law  of  descent  and  surrender  the  throne 
to  the  son  of  Prince  Kung,  Kwang-su  was  driven  to 


! DOWNFALL  OF  THE  MANCTTUS  319 

j the  opposite  course  of  attempting  such  a revolution  as 
' would  lead  to  the  regeneration  of  China,  inaugurate  a 
new  era  of  progress,  bring  the  Chinese  masses  to  his 
side,  and  thus  establish  morally  a new  dynasty  which 
I should  rest  upon  the  support  of  the  Chinese  nation 
rather  than  upon  the  Manchu  contingent.  Hence,  in 
1898,  Kwang-su,  at  the  suggestion  of  K’ang  Yii-wei 
and  other  radical  advisers,  began  issuing  reform  de- 
crees, following  one  decree  by  another  almost  before 
I the  paper  was  dry.  He  issued  seven  decrees  between 
' September  first  and  fourth,  and  eight  more  during 
the  next  seventeen  days:  as  if  a new  China  could  be 
created  by  paper  pronunciamentos.  He  startled  the 
empire;  and  instead  of  rallying  the  Chinese  to  his  sup- 
port, created  almost  as  much  consternation  among 
them  as  among  his  Manchu  relations.  He  thus  started 
not  a reform  but  a revolution  in  China. 

In  this  crisis  the  destiny  of  China  rested  with  Jung 
Lu  and  Yuan  Shih  Kai.  Yuan  Shih  Kai  had  risen 
rapidly  in  political  favor,  had  been  an  official  in  Korea, 
had  there  seen  something  of  the  new  life  of  Japan,  had 
had  a leading  part  in  the  recent  war  with  Japan,  and 
had  seen  the  hopelessness  of  outworn  practices  and 
institutions  in  a struggle  against  a nation  guided  by 
Western  science.  Hence  at  the  close  of  the  war  with 
Japan  he  was  a most  earnest  advocate  of  a new  army 
for  China  after  Western  models.  Accordingly,  he  had 
been  intrusted  with  this  task;  and  he  had,  in  1898,  the 
strongest  army  not  only  in  north  China  but  in  the  na- 
tion. Probably  his  reform  measures  at  Tientsin,  and 
as  governor  of  the  Chihli  Province,  led  Kwang-su  to 
feel  that  he  could  rely  upon  Yuan  Shih  Kai  in  carry- 


320  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

ing  out  a reform  program.  Yuan  Shih  Kai  was  at 
that  time  judicial  commissioner  of  Chihli,®  Jung  Lu 
being  governor-general  of  Chihli  and  commander-in- 
chief of  the  foreign  drilled  troops.^  The  emperor  sent 
for  Yuan  Shih  Kai  and  asked  his  support  in  maintain- 
ing the  reform  policy  but  did  not  fully  disclose  his 
plans  to  him.  As  Yuan  Shih  Kai  was  especially  anx- 
ious for  a reform  of  the  army,  he  promised  the  emperor 
his  support,  and  was  assigned  to  “Army  Reform.”^” 
Jung  Lu  was  unswerving  in  his  loyalty  to  the  empress 
dowager,  and  Yuan  Shih  Kai  was  the  only  man  who 
could  secure  the  support  of  the  troops  as  over  against 
Jung  Lu.  The  empress  dowager  heard  of  Yuan  Shih 
Kai’s  summons  into  the  presence  of  the  emperor,  and 
she  immediately  sent  for  him  and  questioned  him 
closely.  She  found  that  he  had  pledged  the  emperor 
to  undertake  the  reform  of  the  army  on  Western  lines. 
She  readily  consented  to  this  reform,  but  told  Yuan 
Shih  Kai  that  the  emperor  had  other  purposes,  and  she 
ordered  him  to  report  to  her  after  he  next  saw  the 
emperor.  In  the  next  meeting  with  the  emperor  the 
conversation  was  apparently  confined  to  army  reform, 
and  again  Yuan  Shih  Kai  pledged  his  loyalty.  At  a 
third  interview,  before  dawn  three  days  later,  the  em- 
peror ordered  Yuan  Shih  Kai  to  take  charge  of  an 
engine  on  the  Peking-Tientsin  Railway,  go  immedi- 
ately to  Tientsin,  kill  Jung  Lu,  and  bring  back  Jung 
Lu’s  troops,  whom  Yuan  Shih  Kai  could  easily  con- 
trol, and  with  these  troops  arrest  the  empress  dowager. 
Yuan  Shih  Kai  did  not  call  upon  the  empress  dowager 

* Bland,  J.  O.  P..  and  Backhouse,  E.:  China  Under  the  Empress  Dowager, 
p.  201.  ' Ibid.,  p.  202.  Ibid.,  p.  203. 


I DOWNFALL  OF  THE  MANCHUS  321 

’ after  either  of  these  two  last  visits  to  Kwang-su;  but 
I he  saw  the  absurdity  of  attempting  to  create  a new 
China  by  mere  paper  decrees.  He  recognized  that  the 
empire  was  upon  the  verge  of  revolution,  and  that  the 
only  person  who  could  prevent  the  revolution  or  pre- 
serve the  empire  from  division  among  foreign  nations 
was  the  empress  dowager.  Hence  Yuan  Shih  Kai  de- 
cided promptly  in  favor  of  Tzii  Hsi:  he  went  to 
I Tientsin,  as  ordered,  showed  Jung  Lu  the  emperor’s 
decree  for  his  execution,  informed  Jung  Lu  of  his 
purpose  to  place  the  empress  dowager  back  upon  the 
; throne,  and  arranged  for  Jung  Lu’s  prompt  support 
with  troops.  He  returned  the  same  day  to  Peking, 
promptly  placed  his  own  troops  around  Kwang-su’s 
residence  and  made  the  young  emperor  his  prisoner, 
September  20,  1898.  Kwang-su  placed  the  scepter 
back  in  his  aunt’s  hands,  and  remained  practically  a 
prisoner  of  state  during  the  remaining  ten  years  of 
his  life. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  Tzu  Hsi  had  violated 
the  law  of  imperial  descent  in  placing  Kwang-su  upon 
the  throne;  and  that  Yuan  Shih  Kai,  first  in  support- 
ing Kwang-su  as  emperor  and  later  in  placing  the 
scepter  back  in  the  hands  of  Tzu  Hsi  instead  of  in 
those  of  the  oldest  and  most  direct  descendant  of  the 
throne,  condoned  this  violation  of  the  law  of  imperial 
descent.  Probably  this  was  one  of  the  factors  which 
inclined  him  to  lean  toward  liberal  government.  Tzu 
Hsi  had  violated  the  law  of  imperial  descent;  and  she 
had  broken  the  more  important  law  of  spiritual  descent 
in  choosing  her  nephew  to  succeed  her  son  as  emperor. 
These  two  cousins  belonged  to  the  same  generation. 


322  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

Under  Chinese  law  Kwang-su, being  selected  asthe  son 
and  successor  of  T’ung  Chi,  must  perform  the  an- 
cestral rites  for  the  repose  of  T’ung  Chi’s  soul.  But 
under  a higher  Chinese  spiritual  law,  one  cousin  can- 
not perform  the  ancestral  rites  for  another  cousin. 
The  person  adopted  as  a son  must  always  belong  at 
least  to  a generation  later  in  descent  than  the  person 
adopting  him;  and  Tzu  Hsi  in  selecting  Kwang-su  as 
emperor,  thus  making  him  the  son  of  his  cousin,  had 
not  provided  for  the  repose  of  T’ung  Chi’s  soul.  This 
was  a far  more  serious  offense  and  a far  more  grievous 
danger  to  the  throne  in  her  own  eyes,  and  in  the  eyes 
of  the  Chinese  people,  than  the  violation  of  the  law  of 
imperial  descent.  But  Tzu  Hsi  was  self-willed  and 
violated  both  the  spiritual  and  political  law  with  ap- 
parent impunity.  Nevertheless,  she  was  deeply  stirred 
when  the  imperial  censor,  Wu  Ko-tu,  openly  rebuked 
her  for  impiety  in  not  providing  for  the  repose  of  the 
soul  of  her  son  in  the  other  world ; he  prophesied  that 
dire  distress  would  fall  upon  the  empire  as  a result  of 
her  wickedness,  and  sealed  his  prophecy  with  his  blood 
by  committing  suicide.  Kwang-su  had  bitterly  dis- 
appointed Tzu  Hsi  by  becoming  far  more  radical  than 
she  desired,  had  brought  China  to  the  verge  of  revolu- 
tion, and  had  forced  her  to  seize  the  reins  of  govern- 
ment again.  She  therefore  publicly  confessed  her  sin 
in  making  Kwang-su  emperor,  announced  the  eleva- 
tion of  Wu  Ko-tu  in  the  next  world,  and  selected 
Pu  Chun,  the  great-grandson  of  the  Emperor  Tao- 
kwang,  as  the  heir  apparent.  Tzu  Hsi  thus  attempted 
to  arrest  the  revolution,  to  propitiate  the  ancestral 
spirits,  and  to  solve  the  dynastic  problem  all  by  a 


DOWNFALL  OF  THE  MANCHUS  323 


prompt  reversion  to  the  conservative  system.  But 
China  had  reached  such  a stage  of  unstable  equi- 
librium, and  the  reaction  against  Kwang-su’s  liberal- 
ism was  so  decided,  that  it  quickly  developed  into  a 
conservative  reaction  called  the  Boxer  Uprising,  June 
20- August  14,  1900. 

We  do  not  think  Tzu  Hsi  planned  this  revolution, 
but  she  was  swept  much  farther  in  the  conservative  re- 
action than  she  intended  to  go.  It  is  remarkable  that 
her  ablest  advisers,  Li  Hung-chang,  Chang  Chih- 
tung.  Yuan  Shih  Kai,  and  Jung  Lu,  in  this  crisis,  all 
attempted  to  hold  her  to  the  golden  mean;  and  Jung 
Lu,  now  generalissimo  of  Chihli,  together  with  the 
other  three  men  in  charge  of  three  provinces,  held  back 
their  people  from  participating  to  any  large  extent  in 
the  Boxer  Uprising,  and  protected  the  lives  of  for- 
eigners. It  is  further  remarkable  that  three  secre- 
taries of  the  Tsung-li  Yamen  went  so  far  in  trying 
to  protect  the  lives  of  foreigners  and  also  to  preserve 
China  from  the  partition  which  they  thought  would 
inevitably  follow  the  execution  of  the  decree,  that  they 
secretly  changed  the  decree  of  the  empress  dowager 
ordering  the  massacre  of  all  foreigners  throughout  the 
provinces,  substituting  the  word  “protect”  for  “de- 
stroy.” They  knew  well  that  they  would  pay  for  this 
act  by  their  lives.  They  quietly  sent  their  families 
away  from  Peking  and  calmly  waited  at  the  capital 
until  the  decree  in  the  form  in  which  they  had  written 
it  had  reached  all  the  governors  and  word  had  come 
back  from  some  of  the  conservatives  expressing  sur- 
prise, and  inquiring  more  fully  as  to  the  meaning  of 
the  decree.  Then  they  endured  death  by  the  linchi 


324  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


process — the  process  of  slow  slicing  of  the  body — in 
return  for  changing  the  imperial  decree/^ 

After  the  close  of  the  Boxer  Uprising — one  of  the 
most  remarkable  sieges  of  history,  during  which  the 
lives  of  foreigners  were  saved  apparently  only  through 
providential  intervention — the  world  was  again 
startled  by  the  foreign  nations  calling  Tzu  Hsi  back 
to  the  throne  of  China;  and  she  reentered  Peking 
January  7,  1902.  This  was  due  to  the  fact  that  part  of 
the  foreign  nations,  including  America,  were  greatly 
opposed  to  any  attempt  to  partition  the  empire,  that  no 
partition  could  be  agreed  upon  which  would  not  prob- 
ably result  in  international  war,  and  that  Tzu  Hsi  had 
demonstrated  through  a quarter  of  a century  that  she 
was  the  most  competent  ruler  of  China  known  to  the 
foreigners,  and  that  she  could  command  the  support 
and  obedience  of  the  Chinese  nation.  Some  have  ex- 
pressed great  surprise  at  the  liberalism  which  char- 
acterized Tzu  PIsi’s  conduct  and  words  during  the 
last  period  of  her  regency  after  her  restoration  to 
power.  Probably  this  was  due  to  two  causes : she  had 
found  that  her  efforts  to  propitiate  the  gods  and  to 
obey  the  dynastic  laws  had  resulted  in  a more  over- 
whelming and  conspicuous  defeat  than  China  had  suf- 
fered under  the  liberalism  of  Kwang-su.  She  knew 
that  Prince  Tuan,  grandson  of  the  Emperor  Tao- 
kwang,  and  the  father  of  Pu  Chiin,  had  led  the  Boxer 
Uprising  and  that  all  foreigners  demanded  at  least  his 
banishment,  and  many  of  them  demanded  his  death. 
She  discovered  Pu  Chiin  already  had  developed  quali- 
ties which  showed  that  he  was  utterly  unfit  to  be  the 


" Encyclopaedia  Britannica,  vol.  vi,  p.  205,  c. 


DOWNFALL  OF  THE  MANCHUS  325 


sovereign  of  China.  Possibly  also  she  noticed  that  he 
was  within  a year  or  two  of  the  age  when  he  would 
assume  the  reins  of  government  and  she  must  again 
retire.  Above  all,  we  must  remember  that  Tzii  Hsi 
belonged  to  the  Red  Girdle  Clan,  and  that  during  a 
struggle  lasting  nearly  forty  years,  with  the  exception 
of  the  temporary  fever  of  the  Boxer  Uprising,  she  had 
stood  for  the  Red  Girdle  Clan  as  over  against  the  ex- 
treme conservatism  of  the  Yellow  Girdle  Clan  and  the 
advocates  of  legitimacy  in  imperial  descent. 

Another  fact,  or  sentiment,  must  be  borne  in  mind. 
We  have  said  little  of  Jung  Lu,  her  early  lover.  In- 
deed, he  never  became  prominent  in  the  eyes  of  for- 
eigners. But  it  was  Jung  Lu  and  his  faithful  guards 
who  preserved  Tzu  Hsi’s  life  during  her  return  as 
a young  widow  from  Jehol  to  Peking;  it  was  Jung  Lu 
and  his  faithful  guards  who  more  than  any  others  gave 
her  the  first  regency;  it  was  Jung  Lu  and  his  faithful 
guards  who  supported  Li  Hung-chang  in  giving  Tzu 
Hsi  the  second  regency ; and  it  was  Jung  Lu’s  devotion 
which  next  to  Yuan  Shih  Kai’s  decision  gave  her  the 
third  regency.  And  in  the  crisis  of  the  Boxer  Up- 
rising, when  she  temporarily  lost  her  judgment,  Jung 
Lu  after  the  first  month  of  the  siege  of  the  Legations 
checked  the  intensity  of  the  artillery  fire,  knowing  that 
the  destruction  of  the  foreigners  would  certainly  be 
followed  by  the  division  of  the  empire.  Here  was  devo- 
tion, coupled  with  judgment,  worthy  of  a mature  and 
life-long  lover.  One  incident  has  been  cited  in  proof  of 
Tzu  Hsi’s  lack  of  affection  for  Jung  Lu,  but  to  our 
mind  it  shows  only  the  depth  of  her  feeling  for  him; 
Jung  Lu’s  parents  arranged  as  a wife  for  him  Prince 


326  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

Ch’in’s  daughter,  and  this  arrangement  apparently 
fully  met  the  approval  of  Tzu  Hsi  after  she  had  been 
taken  as  a concubine  by  the  emperor.  But  Jung  Lu 
was  only  human ; and,  perhaps  in  part  because  of  di- 
vided affection,  he  fell  under  a temporary  infatuation 
for  another  woman  who  was  neither  Tzu  Hsi  nor  his 
own  wife.  Tzu  Hsi  apparently  resented  this  more 
bitterly  even  than  Jung  Lu’s  wife,  and  she  banished 
him  from  the  capital  for  seven  years.  His  recall  to 
Peking  and  appointment  in  the  crisis  of  1898  as  gen- 
eralissimo of  the  armies  of  Chihli,  his  later  appointment 
to  organize  the  Grand  Army  of  the  North,  and  his  high 
authority  in  Tzu  Hsi’s  councils  until  his  death;  and, 
above  all,  the  strange  and  solemn  pledge  she  made  him 
on  his  deathbed — all  show  that  during  his  seven  years’ 
absence  she  had  not  forgotten  her  old  lover.  After  her 
last  restoration  to  the  regency,  when  Jung  Lu  lay 
dying  from  overwork  and  devotion  to  her  services,  in 
1903,  and  dying  without  a son,  Tzu  Hsi  made  him  a 
secret  promise  that  should  his  daughter  now  approach- 
ing the  age  of  marriage  bear  a son,  she  would  make 
that  son  the  heir  to  the  throne.  What  is  this  but  an 
attempt  of  the  old  empress  dowager  to  transform  her 
old  lover  into  an  ex  post  facto  emperor  ? The  death  of 
Jung  Lu  turned  her  burning  words  into  a sacred  prom- 
ise, binding  upon  the  heart  of  Tzu  Hsi.  Without 
giving  the  slightest  indication  of  her  purpose,  and 
steadily  declining  to  follow  the  urgent  reminders  of  the 
imperial  councilors  that  she  must  select  an  heir  to 
the  throne,  she  ordered  her  nephew,  Prince  Chun,  to 
marry  Jung  Lu’s  daughter.  Her  order  was  law,  and 
the  marriage  was  promptly  consummated.  Prince 


DOWNFALL  OF  THE  MANCHUS  327 

Chun  was  the  younger  half-brother  of  the  Emperor 
Kwang-su,  and,  like  Kwang-su,  was  the  son  of  her 
favorite  sister,  and  a leading  member  of  the  Red  Girdle 
Clan,  but  not  the  legitimate  heir  to  the  throne.  Tzu 
Hsi  knew  that  he  excelled  Pu  Chiin  in  character,  and 
she  thought  him  a man  of  sounder  judgment  than 
Kwang-su.  For  all  these  reasons,  and,  above  all, 
through  her  devotion  to  her  old  lover,  when  Jung  Lu’s 
daughter  gave  birth  to  a son,  she  once  more  resolved 
to  violate  the  dynastic  law  and  to  put  the  little  lad 
upon  the  throne.  She  kept  her  counsel  to  herself.  Not 
even  Prince  Chun  or  Jung  Lu’s  daughter  dreamed  of 
her  purpose,  for  she  postponed  the  inevitable  struggle 
with  the  Yellow  Girdle  Clan  as  long  as  possible.  At 
last,  in  1908,  when  Kwang-su  lay  dying,  she  ordered 
nurses  sent  to  care  for  the  little  son  in  Prince  Chun’s 
home.  This  gave  the  members  of  the  council  knowl- 
edge of  her  choice  of  the  heir  apparent.  A few  days 
later  she  herself  suffered  a slight  stroke  of  paralysis; 
the  imperial  council  met  November  14th.  Kwang-su 
was  yet  alive.  But  she  ignored  any  claim  he  might 
have  as  emperor  to  name  his  successor  to  the  throne. 
Her  own  choice  which  long  had  been  a secret  was  now 
apparent  to  the  members  of  the  council. 

But  Yuan  Shih  Kai,  who  decided  in  her  favor 
against  Kwang-su  in  1898,  a decision  which  had  left 
Kwang-su  practically  a political  prisoner  for  ten  years, 
naturally  hesitated  to  see  Kwang-su’s  brother  assume 
the  regency.  Possibly  also  his  own  judgment  led  him 
to  the  conviction  that  China  could  not  go  through  a 
long  period  under  another  regency.  Prince  P’u  Lun, 
a member  of  the  Yellow  Girdle  Clan,  was  under  the 


328  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

house  laws  of  the  Manchu  dynasty  the  legitimate  heir 
to  the  throne  in  case  of  Kwang-su’s  death;  and  he 
was  of  such  an  age  that  he  could  immediately,  or  else 
at  an  early  date,  assume  the  scepter.  Hence  Yuan 
Shih  Kai  openly  and  earnestly  advised  that  P’u  Lun 
be  selected  as  heir  to  the  throne.  Prince  Chun,  who 
was  present  at  the  councils,  out  of  his  politeness,  form- 
ally joined  in  Yuan  Shih  Kai’s  suggestion  and  indi- 
cated his  acquiescence  in  the  choice  of  P’u  Lun.  Two 
members  of  the  council  voted  with  Yuan  Shih  Kai  in 
favor  of  P’u  Lun.  But  the  majority  of  the  council, 
knowing  the  empress  dowager’s  mind,  voted  for  little 
P’u  Yi,  Prince  Chun’s  son,  for  emperor.  Yuan  Shih 
Kai  was  bold  enough  to  protest  against  the  selection, 
affirming  that  this  was  another  violation  of  the  d}mas- 
tic  law,  and  that  it  would  be  impossible  to  preserve 
the  peace  of  the  nation  during  another  long  period 
under  a regency.  But  Tzu  Hsi,  with  her  imperial 
instincts,  forgot  even  that  death  was  staring  her  in 
the  face,  and  quickly  and  sharply  told  her  great  min- 
ister that  she  would  be  here  to  protect  P’u  Yi  in  his 
rights.  She  ordered  the  decree  immediately  prepared 
proclaiming  him  emperor,  and  a second  decree  pre- 
pared proclaiming  Prince  Chun  as  Prince  Cooperat- 
ing in  the  Empire,  to  become  prince  regent  at  her 
death,  and  messengers  were  sent  to  bring  P’u  Yi  into 
the  palace.  It  is  said  that  she  told  the  council  in  that 
memorable  meeting  that  five  years  before,  on  Jung 
Lu’s  deathbed,  she  had  promised  him  that  if  his 
daughter  bore  a son  that  son  should  be  the  emperor  of 
China,  that  she  had  ordered  Prince  Chun  to  marry 
Jung  Lu’s  daughter,  that  a son  had  been  granted  in 


DOWNFALL  OF  THE  MANCIIUS  329 


answer  to  her  prayers,  and  that  she  would  now  see 
to  it  that  he  was  placed  upon  the  throne.  When  the 
news  reached  Kwang-su  that  his  nephew  P’u  Yi  was 
to  be  the  emperor  and  his  younger  brother  the  regent, 
it  is  said  that  he  was  much  gratified  and  began  imme- 
diately a message  to  his  brother;  and  that  this  mes- 
sage opened  with  the  declaration:  “For  our  misery 
of  the  last  ten  years.  Yuan  Shih  Kai  is  responsible 
. , . When  the  time  comes,  I desire  that  Yuan  shall 
be  summarily  beheaded.”  It  is  said  that  before  the 
letter  was  completed  the  writing  became  illegible  and 
that  a few  minutes  later  Kwang-su  was  dead,  Novem- 
ber 14,  1908.  The  empress  dowager  with  her  custom- 
ary promptness  had  the  little  son  of  Prince  Ch’tin  safe 
in  the  palace  within  an  hour.  It  was  well  she  acted 
promptly,  for  the  next  day,  November  15,  perhaps  as 
the  result  of  the  extra  strain,  she  received  a second 
stroke  of  paralysis  and  soon  expired.  Her  childish 
love  of  Jung  Lu,  a love  apparently  deepening  through- 
out her  lifetime ; her  own  choice  as  a royal  concubine ; 
her  fortune  in  bearing  Hien-feng  his  only  son ; her  ad- 
vancement to  a position  next  to  that  of  the  empress 
of  China ; her  remarkable  ability ; her  unequaled  power 
of  work  and  surprising  energy  of  action ; her  success- 
sions  to  the  regency  in  1861-73,  in  1875-88,  in  1898- 
1900,  and  again  in  1902-08,  and  her  whole  remarkable 
reign  stretching  through  forty-seven  years,  from  1861 
to  1908;  the  death  of  her  own  son  and  the  selection  of 
her  favorite  sister’s  son  as  emperor ; the  committal  of 
herself  by  this  choice  against  the  legitimate  heir  and 
the  wishes  of  the  Yellow  Girdle  Clan,  and  the  conse- 


London  Times,  Sept.  8,  1909,  quoted  in  Encyc.  Britannica,  vol.  vi,  p.  212,  a. 


330  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

quent  swinging  of  herself  and  Kwang-su  to  the  side  of 
political  liberalism;  her  reversion  at  the  time  of  the 
Boxer  Uprising  to  the  old  conservatism;  her  second 
committal  to  the  principles  of  liberalism;  her  promise 
to  her  old  lover  as  he  lay  dying ; her  selection  of  a hus- 
band for  his  daughter;  her  prayers  for  a son  to  be 
emperor  of  China  and  her  success  in  her  dying  hours 
in  placing  this  son  upon  the  throne — all  form  a 
romance  unrivaled  in  ancient  or  in  modern  history. 

Were  we  writing  fiction,  we  should  be  obliged  to 
make  the  story  end  in  triumph  for  the  little  P’u  Yi, 
selected  for  an  heroic  cast  before  his  birth.  But  truth 
is  even  stranger  than  fiction,  and  the  stern  facts  of 
Prince  Chun’s  reign  reveal  the  irony  of  the  mightiest 
rulers’  attempts  to  shape  the  unfolding  history  of 
nations.  Nevertheless,  there  is  in  some  measure  a 
logic  of  history  in  the  subsequent  events.  It  was  her 
womanly  devotion  to  her  own  weaker  clan,  her  jeal- 
ousy of  the  Yellow  Girdle  Clan,  and  her  undying  love 
for  Jung  Lu,  which  resulted  in  Tzii  Hsi’s  break  with 
the  conservative  forces  of  the  empire ; which  led  to  life- 
long opposition  of  extreme  conservatives  and  legit- 
imists to  her  rule,  and  which  forced  Kwang-su  and 
Prince  Chun  to  start  evolutions  which  turned  into 
revolutions  impossible  for  them  to  control,  resulting 
at  last  in  the  downfall  of  the  dynasty  and  the  establish- 
ment of  the  Republic.  This  will  become  clearer  as  we 
study  Prince  Chun’s  reign.  But  that  is  another 
chapter. 

Books  for  Reference 

Bland,  J.  O.  P.,  and  Backhouse,  E, ; China  Under  the  Em- 
press Dowager. 


CHAPTER  XIV 


THE  TRANSITION:  PRINCE  CHUN’S 
REGENCY 

When  the  representatives  of  the  foreign  govern- 
ments in  Peking  learned  that  Kwang-su  was  dead, 
that  the  empress  dowager  was  dead,  that  an  unknown 
infant  was  emperor,  and  that  an  almost  unknown 
prince,  named  Chun,  was  regent,  they  were  filled  with 
consternation.  They  had  some  hope  that  Yuan  Shih 
Kai  was  back  of  this  strange  selection  and  that  he 
would  be  the  power  behind  the  throne.  Had  they 
known  that  the  real  power  which  placed  Prince  Chun 
upon  the  throne  had  been  exercised  by  the  deceased 
empress  against  a double  protest  from  Yuan  Shih  Kai, 
possibly  their  consternation  would  have  led  to  open 
interference  with  the  program.  As  it  was,  they  shook 
their  heads  ominously,  saying : “A  young  man ; almost 
an  unknown  man;  his  brother — the  late  emperor — a 
dreamer;  the  only  public  act  of  this  man’s  life  an  apol- 
ogy to  a foreign  government ; his  quiet  manner  a sign 
of  weakness;  China  has  made  an  irreparable  blunder.” 
We  are  inclined  to  think  that  in  part,  at  least,  foreign 
representatives  misread  then,  and,  in  the  light  of  their 
early  contempt,  continued  to  misread  the  character  of 
Prince  Chun.  Certainly,  a word  of  appreciation  may 
not  be  out  of  place  in  view  of  his  tragic  failure  and  his 
loss  of  the  crown  for  his  son  and  for  his  dynasty. 

First,  the  young  man’s  apology  to  Germany  for  the 
murder  of  Baron  Klemens  von  Ketteler  was  not  to  his 

331 


332  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


discredit.  It  was,  indeed,  a humiliating  mission  on 
which  to  send  a prince  of  the  oldest  nation  on  earth. 
Moreover,  on  reaching  Basle  he  was  informed  that  he 
and  his  suite  would  be  expected  to  perform  the  kowtow 
before  the  German  emperor.  As  this  was  the  uni- 
versal method  of  approaching  Chinese  sovereigns, 
and  as  China  had  always  maintained  that  it  was  the 
proper  method  of  approaching  a sovereign;  as  China 
had  been  guilty  of  a most  heinous  crime  in  the  murder 
of  an  accredited  German  representative  in  her  own 
capital,  William  II  thought  it  not  unfitting  that  the 
young  prince  should  appear  in  his  presence  in  the 
Chinese  fashion  of  saluting  rulers  and  read  his 
apology  upon  his  knees.  Prince  Chun  at  once  pro- 
tested. At  first  the  emperor  was  firm.  Prince  Chun 
was  only  eighteen  years  old ; he  was  wholly  lacking  in 
experience;  he  was  far  away  from  home;  the  German 
army  was  in  Peking ; and  his  country  was  at  the  mercy 
of  foreigners.  But  he  immediately  cabled  home  for 
instructions.  Meantime  he  feigned  illness  and  did  not 
appear  in  the  emperor’s  presence  to  read  his  apology 
at  the  time  appointed  and,  of  course,  the  emperor  could 
not  order  a sick  man  dragged  into  his  presence.  The 
instructions  cabled  back  to  Prince  Chun  read : “Act  as 
circumstances  demand.  Compromise  if  possible.”  He 
thus  had  authority  from  his  government  to  perform 
the  kowtow  if  the  circumstances  demanded  it;  and  they 
certainly  seemed  to  demand  this  humiliation  upon  his 
part.  But  he  persistently  remained  ill  and  unable  to  ap- 
pear before  the  emperor.  Through  the  Chinese  min- 
ister to  Germany  and  through  an  able  German  citizen 
who  was  acting  as  Chinese  consul  at  Hamburg,  he 


THE  TRANSITION 


333 


made  clear  to  the  emperor  that  he  would  return  to 
China  without  making  any  apology,  and  that  the  fiasco 
would  make  both  nations  ridiculous  in  the  eyes  of 
the  world.  He  therefore  asked  that  as  a personal 
favor  he  be  excused  from  this  humiliation.  His  tact 
in  approaching  the  emperor  privately,  while  stead- 
fastly refusing  to  make  any  public  statement  of  the 
difficulty;  his  postponement  of  an  appearance  upon  his 
knees  through  a feigned  illness  which  “saved  the 
emperor’s  face”;  and  his  firmness — all  tended  to  win 
Emperor  William’s  appreciation.  Moreover,  while 
the  German  emperor  thought  remaining  upon  one’s 
knees  for  a few  minutes  a very  short  humiliation  to 
suffer  in  return  for  the  violation  of  national  good  faith 
in  the  murder  of  a German  ambassador,  nevertheless 
he  began  to  feel  the  mistake  on  his  part  of  exacting 
from  the  Chinese  in  their  distress  a form  of  homage 
which  Western  diplomacy  had  refused  for  generations 
to  render,  on  the  ground  that  it  was  barbarous  and 
degrading.  Hence,  the  emperor  agreed  that  he  should 
read  the  apology  standing.  Prince  Chun  suddenly 
recovered,  and  read  his  apology  standing  on  his  feet 
like  a man.  Later  in  the  day  the  emperor  returned  the 
call  and  remained  with  the  prince  long  beyond  the 
time  demanded  by  etiquette,  and  invited  the  prince  to 
visit  him  and  the  German  empress;  and  by  both  of 
them  he  was  royally  received,  so  that  his  commission 
beginning  in  penitence  terminated  almost  in  an  ova- 
tion. One  can  understand  why  the  first  act  of  this 
young  man  on  becoming  regent  was  the  abolition  for 
the  Chinese  of  the  age-long  custom  of  approaching 
rulers  with  the  kowtow. 


334  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

A second  incident  is  of  interest,  at  least  to  Amer- 
icans. Long  before  the  selection  of  this  young  man 
for  the  regency,  during  diplomatic  meetings  he  showed 
a preference  for  Mr,  and  Mrs,  Conger.  Prince  Chun 
became  a caller  and  an  occasional  visitor  at  the  Amer- 
ican Legation.  The  Congers  received  him  with  their 
customary  courtesy;  but  they  little  dreamed  that  this 
quiet  man,  whose  questions  about  America  drew  from 
them  a fund  of  information  in  regard  to  our  American 
institutions,  would  later  become  the  ruler  of  three  to 
four  hundred  million  people. 

A third  incident,  reported  by  the  London  Globe,  is 
of  interest  to  Christians  and  to  all  who  honor  the 
Bible.  It  is  well  known  that  after  the  Boxer  Up- 
rising the  imperial  palace  was  entered  by  foreigners. 
In  looting  the  imperial  palace  the  Old  Testament  was 
found  in  the  empress  dowager’s  chamber,  and  the 
New  Testament  in  Kwang-su’s  study,  with  occa- 
sional notes  made  by  himself  upon  the  margin 
of  the  pages.  The  evident  interest  taken  by  these 
persons  in  the  copies  of  the  Scriptures  presented 
to  them  led  to  the  presentation  of  a less  pretentious 
but  still  very  beautiful  copy  of  the  Bible  in  Chinese  to 
the  prince  regent.  The  regent  in  accepting  the  gift 
at  the  hands  of  the  American  minister  assured  his 
Excellency  that  as  soon  as  P’ti  Yi  had  mastered  the 
rudiments  of  reading  he  should  study  these  Sacred 
Scriptures.  Doubtless  the  prince  and  the  little  lad 
still  have  the  volume,  and  we  trust  that  in  the  strange 
changes  of  fortune  which  have  come  to  them  this  book 
may  become  their  guide  and  their  consolation. 

A fourth  act  displays  unusual  courage.  In  1908, 


THE  TRANSITION 


335 


before  the  death  of  Kwang-su  and  of  the  empress 
dowager,  Yuan  Shih  Kai  reached  his  fiftieth  birthday. 
The  “king-maker”  of  China  was  then  apparently  at 
the  height  of  his  power.  The  empress  dowager  sent 
him  congratulations  and  a gift,  and  foreigners  and 
Chinese  alike  crowded  his  palace  throughout  the  day 
with  congratulations  and  gifts.  But  Prince  Chun, 
without  the  slightest  regard  to  the  effect  which  his 
open  refusal  to  call  might  have  upon  the  great  min- 
ister, or  upon  the  empress  dowager,  stubbornly  de- 
clined to  honor  the  man  who  ten  years  before  had,  as 
he  believed,  betrayed  his  brother.  Do  you  wonder, 
bearing  these  facts  in  mind,  that  Yuan  Shih  Kai  spoke 
twice  to  the  empress  dowager  of  the  danger  of  making 
this  young  man  the  regent  ? 

A fifth  act  displays  the  characteristic  Chinese  pref- 
erence for  the  middle  course  and  resolution  tempered 
by  discretion  in  carrying  out  that  course.  Well  might 
Prince  Chun,  the  night  after  the  throne  was  com- 
mitted to  him,  have  said,  “Uneasy  lies  the  head  that 
wears  the  crown.”  The  prayer  of  his  dying  brother 
that  Yuan  Shih  Kai,  the  strongest  man  in  China,  should 
be  beheaded;  the  struggle  of  the  younger  line  of  the 
Manchu  dynasty  to  hold  the  throne  against  the  older 
and  legitimate  line;  the  maintenance  of  the  territorial 
integrity  of  China  against  foreign  governments  vastly 
stronger  than  China  and  eager  to  take  advantage  of 
her  weakness ; and  the  guidance  of  a fifth  of  the  human 
race  in  both  political  and  moral  reforms  which  had 
become  imperative,  but  which  had  never  been  carried 
through  in  any  nation  without  bloodshed — these  were 
the  problems  which  confronted  the  young  man  as  he 


336  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

assumed  the  authority  over  three  hundred  and  thirty 
million  people  on  that  dark  November  afternoon  in 
1908.  Certainly,  history  would  be  stranger  than  fic- 
tion and  would  contradict  the  laws  of  progress  had  this 
inexperienced  young  man  solved  successfully  all  these 
problems  in  three  brief  years.  He  did  not  make  a 
fatal  blunder  in  the  spirit  in  which  he  confronted  them 
and  he  advanced  each  one  of  them  to  a greater  or  less 
degree. 

I.  Prince  Chun  pushed  the  opium  reform  forward 
with  such  earnestness  that  he  brought  it  practically 
to  a successful  conclusion.  The  first  edict  against 
opium  was  issued  by  the  Chinese  government  in  1729.^ 
This  was  followed  by  a second  imperial  decree  in  1796 
declaring  contraband  all  opium  imported  into  China. 
But  following  the  “Opium  War”  of  1840-42  with 
Great  Britain,  and  in  part  as  the  consequence  of 
British  pressure,  the  opium  traffic  was  legalized  by 
the  Chinese  government  in  1858.^  In  response  to  a 
petition  signed  by  twelve  hundred  missionaries,  the 
dowager  empress,  on  September  20,  1906,  issued  an 
edict  that  the  growth,  sale,  and  use  of  opium  should 
decrease  ten  per  cent  a year  and  cease  wholly  at  the 
end  of  ten  years.  This  was  followed  by  a further 
imperial  decree  against  opium,  issued  in  May,  and 
another  in  June,  1907.  But  as  the  dowager  empress 
sometimes  used  opium  herself,  her  decrees  were  not 
fully  obeyed — especially  as  many  of  the  officials  under 
her  were  using  opium  and  were  receiving  bribes  for 
permitting  the  growth  of  the  poppy  and  the  manu- 


* EncyclopcEdia  Britannica,  vol.  vi,  p.  210,  d. 
2 Ibid.,  vol.  vi,  p.  210,  c. 


THE  TRANSITION 


337 


facture  and  sale  of  the  drug-.  Prince  Chiin  selected 
opium  for  his  first  reform  and  pressed  it  with  such 
energy  as  to  transform  the  opium  struggle  from  a 
provincial  problem  into  a national  and  international 
reform.  He  recognized  that  the  use  of  opium  affected 
vitally  the  moral,  mental,  and  physical  stamina  of  his 
people,  and  that  its  complete  abolition  was  essential 
to  the  safety  of  the  empire.  Thus,  by  stead}^  and  con- 
stant pressure  upon  the  officials  on  the  one  side,  and  by 
enlisting  the  sympathy  and  cooperation  of  the  foreign 
governments  on  the  other  side,  he  placed  the  opium 
reform  on  the  road  to  successful  accomplishment. 
The  London  Times,  in  an  editorial  upon  the  triumph 
of  this  reform,  said  of  Prince  Chun:  “The  whole 
world  has  contemplated  with  admiration  and  not  a 
little  envy  the  striking  success  of  the  Chinese  crusade 
against  opium.  Posterity  will  recognize  his  success  in 
this  reform  as  an  event  worthy  to  immortalize  the 
reign  of  any  prince.” 

2.  October  12,  1910,  pneumonic  plague  broke  out 
in  Manchourie  in  the  province  of  Manchuria.  By 
January  2,  1911,  the  plague  appeared  at  Mukden  and 
Peking.  Prince  Chun,  on  the  advice  of  Alfred  Sze 
and  others,  decided  in  favor  of  Western  methods  in 
combating  the  plague  and  appointed  Dr.  Wu  Lien-teh, 
a graduate  of  a school  of  medicine  in  London  and  a 
postgraduate  student  of  schools  of  medicine  in  Paris 
and  Berlin,  to  take  medical  charge  of  the  plague  dis- 
tricts. Under  his  direction  the  plague  was  stamped 
out  after  causing  the  death  of  forty  thousand  people. 
April  5,  1911,  the  Plague  Conference  called  by  Prince 
Chun  met  at  Mukden  and  continued  in  session  for  a 


338  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

month.  Delegates  were  present  from  Austria-Hun- 
gary, France,  Germany,  Great  Britain,  Holland,  Italy, 
Japan,  Mexico,  Russia,  and  the  United  States.  Dr. 
Wu  Lien-teh  was  elected  president  of  the  conference; 
the  delegates  present  rejected  the  claims  of  Japanese 
physicians  that  they  had  discovered  a cure  for  the 
plague  and  adopted  resolutions  highly  commending 
the  efforts  of  Dr.  Wu  and  of  the  Chinese  government 
in  stamping  out  the  plague.  Surely,  here  was  an  indi- 
cation of  a progressive  spirit  on  the  part  of  Prince 
Chun.  A further  indication  of  the  same  spirit  was 
found  in  the  decree  issued  by  him  in  February,  1910, 
ordering  reforms  and  improvements  in  the  judiciary 
and  an  extension  of  local  self-government  so  as  to 
make  the  prefecture,  instead  of  the  county,  the  meet- 
ing place  of  the  imperial  authority  descending  from 
above,  and  the  local  self-government  originating  with 
the  people.  These  two  reforms  were  recommended  by 
the  committee  on  constitutional  reforms  and  readily 
accepted  by  the  prince  regent. 

3.  Prince  Chun  inaugurated  a greatly  needed  reform 
in  China  by  abolishing  slavery — at  least  on  paper. 
Slavery  never  has  been  accompanied  by  the  excesses 
or  the  fearful  evils  with  which  it  cursed  the  Western 
nations.  We  suspect,  however,  that  our  lenient  judg- 
ment upon  this  moral  monstrosity  is  due  more  to 
Western  ignorance  of  the  bitterness  of  Chinese  slave 
life  than  to  any  good  which  can  possibly  inhere  in 
slavery.  While  Prince  Chun  did  not  throw  himself 
into  this  reform  with  the  energy  with  which  he  prose- 
cuted the  opium  reform,  nevertheless  he  did  issue, 
February  10,  1910,  his  famous  decree  formally  abol- 


TUK  TRANSITION 


339 


ishing’  slavery  throughout  the  nation.  Had  he  l)een 
a sufficiently  energetic  and  brave  ruler,  he  would  have 
seen  that  his  decree  was  carried  out  instead  of  simply 
being,  in  this  case,  content,  like  his  brother,  Kwang-su, 
with  the  issue  of  his  paper  proclamation.  On  the  other 
hand  we  must  recognize  that  he  never  had  any  strong 
or  loyal  army  under  his  control,  and  that  he  would 
have  found  it  very  dangerous  to  resort  to  force  in 
carrying  out  the  decree  against  an  evil  which  was  not 
so  strongly  condemned  by  public  sentiment  in  China 
as  was  the  opium  evil.  There  was  no  marked  public 
agitation  for  the  abolition  of  slavery.  Slavery  does 
not  bulk  large  in  the  economic  life  of  the  nation.  But 
this  blot  upon  Chinese  civilization  must  awaken  the 
moral  condemnation  of  the  nation  in  the  not  distant 
future;  and  when  that  struggle  comes  the  advocates 
of  freedom  will  find  themselves  greatly  helped  by 
Prince  Chun’s  imperial  proclamation  making  slavery 
illegal  throughout  the  nation. 

4.  The  reform  which  was  to  have  the  most  momen- 
tous influence  upon  Prince  Chun’s  career,  and  prob- 
ably upon  the  destiny  of  the  Chinese  government,  was 
not,  indeed,  inaugurated,  but  was  carried  forward  rap- 
idly by  him.  This  was  the  effort  for  representative 
government.  The  reform  began  before  Prince  Chun 
assumed  the  reins.  Owing  to  the  agitation  arising 
from  the  Boxer  Uprising,  the  Russo-Japanese  war,  the 
influence  of  missionaries  with  their  schools,  and  West- 
ern science,  the  dowager  empress,  as  early  as  1905,  ap- 
pointed a commission  headed  by  Prince  Tsai  Tse  to 
study  the  organization  and  administrative  systems  of 
foreign  countries,  with  a view  to  the  possible  estab- 


340  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

lishment  of  representative  government  in  China.^  The 
commission  visited  Japan,  the  United  States  and 
Europe,  and  on  its  return  in  1906  reported  in  favor  of 
the  adoption  by  China  of  representative  government. 
In  response  to  this  report  the  dowager  empress  issued 
an  imperial  decree  in  September,  1906,  promising  the 
establishment  of  some  form  of  representative  govern- 
ment in  the  future.  Again,  in  1907,  a decree  was 
issued  promising,  at  an  early  date,  an  Imperial 
Assembly  with  advisory  powers  as  a preparation  for 
the  Imperial  Parliament  which  was  to  be  established 
later.  In  1907,  on  the  recommendation  of  Yuan  Shih 
Kai,  a commission  was  appointed  to  study  especially 
the  constitutions  and  the  parliamentary  systems  of 
Great  Britain,  Germany,  and  Japan.'*  August  27, 
1908,  the  dowager  empress  issued  the  long-expected 
decree  promising  that  the  first  formal  Chinese  Parlia- 
ment would  assemble  in  1917.^  This  was  the  condi- 
tion of  the  movement  on  the  death  of  Kwang-su 
November  14,  and  the  death  of  the  dowager  empress 
November  15,  1908. 

October  14,  1909,  a notable  step  toward  parlia- 
mentary government  was  inaugurated  by  the  meeting 
of  Advisory  Provincial  Assemblies  the  members  of 
which  had  been  elected  according  to  a decree  issued 
by  Prince  Chun.  The  suffrage  by  which  these  repre- 
sentatives to  the  Advisory  Assemblies  were  chosen 
was  limited  by  educational,  property  and  moral  quali- 
fications. Hence  the  electorate  was  a very  restricted 
one.  It  embraced,  however,  more  than  a million  per- 


• Encyclopaedia  Britannica,  vol.  vi,  p.  209,  d. 

‘ Ibid.,  vol.  vi,  p.  210,  a.  ‘ Ibid. 


THE  TRANSITION 


341 


sons  qualified  to  vote,  distributed  over  the  whole  of 
China,  and  the  suffrage  could  easily  be  enlarged. 
Moreover,  the  electors  were  recognized  as  the  legit- 
imate leaders  of  public  sentiment  in  the  localities  in 
which  they  reside.®  Hence  the  step  from  a theoretical 
despotism  to  a representative  assembly  was  a very  real 
one — all  the  more  real  because  of  the  conservatism 
with  which  the  step  was  taken,  manifested  by  the 
restriction  of  suffrage  and  by  the  granting  of  only 
advisory  powers  to  the  assemblies  in  their  earlier 
meetings.  These  assemblies  met  in  all  tbe  provinces 
October  14,  1909,  and  the  members  showed  ad- 
mirable poise  and  self-restraint  in  the  debates  and  in 
resolutions  adopted  recommending  various  reforms. 
Among  these  were  resolutions  providing  for  meetings 
of  the  Advisory  Provincial  Assemblies  and  also  for  a 
meeting  of  a National  Advisory  Assembly  the  fol- 
lowing year.  October  3,  1910,  the  National  Assembly, 
or  Tzu  Cheng  Yuan,  met  and  continued  in  session 
until  January  ii,  1911.  It  secured  a pledge  from 
Prince  Chun  to  rule  through  a Cabinet,  by  which  it 
meant  a Cabinet  whose  continuance  should  be  subject 
to  the  votes  of  a national  Parliament;  and  it  also 
secured  a pledge  from  him  for  a meeting  of  the  first 
National  Parliament  with  full  legislative  powers  in 
1914,  instead  of  1917,  as  the  dowager  empress  had 
decreed. 

This  brief  review  makes  clear  the  qualities  which 
Prince  Chun  revealed  and  the  reforms  which  he  either 
inaugurated  or  accepted.  Surely,  his  success  in  press- 
ing the  opium  reform,  his  modern  spirit  in  adopting 


* Bashford,  James  W.:  Notes,  Bk.  48,  p.  59. 


342  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

Western  methods  in  dealing  with  the  plague,  his  decree 
abolishing  slavery  and  his  acceptance  of  the  change 
from  a despotic  to  a representative  form  of  govern- 
ment will  in  due  time  make  his  reign  memorable  in  the 
history  of  China.  Turning  now  to  the  other  side  of 
the  picture,  we  discover  the  weaknesses  which  caused 
the  downfall  of  the  regency  and  of  the  Manchu 
dynasty. 

It  is  true  that  Prince  Chun  had  not  displayed 
marked  leadership  in  any  of  these  reforms  save  that 
of  opium,  and  that  the  parliamentary  reforms  were 
thrust  upon  him  by  Chinese  reformers  instead  of 
springing  from  his  own  initiative.  But  friendly  ob- 
servers were  beginning  to  wonder  whether  the  weak- 
ness of  Prince  Chun  might  not  prove  a providential 
preparation  for  the  adoption  of  representative  insti- 
tutions in  China,  just  as  the  weakness  of  Prince  John 
gave  England  the  Magna  Charta.  But  a wider  knowl- 
edge of  history  would  have  convinced  these  observers 
that  great  reforms  seldom  spring  from  the  weakness 
of  princes.  De  Tocqueville,  with  rare  insight  into  the 
movement  of  political  forces,  points  out  the  fatality  of 
any  surrender  of  privileges  which  have  been  long 
maintained  by  a despotic  or  corrupt  government.  The 
slightest  surrender  concedes  the  injustice  of  the  old 
system  of  corruption  or  despotism,  while  at  the  same 
time  it  reveals  the  weakness  of  the  upholders  of  that 
system.  Hence  any  attempt  at  evolution  from  cor- 
ruption to  honesty,  or  from  despotism  to  republican- 
ism, usually  marks  the  speedy  doom  of  the  outworn 
system.  Here  is  a case  where  conversion,  and  not 
slow  moral  progress,  is  the  divine  remedy. 


THE  TRANSITION 


343 


Prince  Chun’s  reign  was  from  the  first  embar- 
rassed by  two  grave  problems.  The  first  problem  was 
the  holding  together  of  the  conservative  and  radical 
elements  of  the  nation  so  as  to  avoid  a revolution.  He 
attempted  to  solve  this  problem  by  securing  the  united 
support  of  Yuan  Shih  Kai  and  Chang  Chi-tung,  whom 
he  appointed  Grand  Guardians  of  the  Heir.  These 
two  men  prevented  for  a brief  time  the  break  between 
the  Chinese  and  the  Manchus.  But  this  solution  only 
deepened  the  difficulty  of  the  second  problem,  which 
was  Yuan  Shih  Kai.  The  carrying  out  by  Prince 
Chun  of  Kwang-su’s  reported  last  request,  viz.,  that 
Yuan  Shih  Kai  be  beheaded,  would  have  been  in  exact 
accord  with  Oriental  custom  and  would  have  furnished 
the  conservative  element  the  highest  proof  of  the  loy- 
alty of  Prince  Chun  to  his  dead  elder  brother.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  keeping  of  Yuan  Shih  Kai  in  power 
would  have  been  in  accordance  with  the  wish  and 
almost  the  demand  of  the  foreign  nations.  But  the 
acceptance  of  foreign  dictation  at  this  point  would 
have  been  universally  regarded  by  the  Chinese  as  an 
act  of  ingratitude  and  disloyalty  to  the  dead  brother, 
and  the  manifestation  of  such  ingratitude  as  would 
surely  bring  down  punishment  upon  Prince  Chun  and 
upon  the  empire.  Prince  Chun’s  decision,  which  was 
gladly  accepted  by  Yuan  Shih  Kai,  and  carried  out 
without  difficulty,  showed  the  tendency  of  this  young 
man  to  choose  “the  golden  mean”  so  dear  to  all  Chinese 
hearts.  He  retired  Yuan  Shih  Kai  from  office  on  the 
ground  of  illness  and  permitted  him  to  return  quietly 
to  his  home,  but  did  not  attempt  his  execution. 
Meantime  the  oldest  son  of  Yuan  Shih  Kai  remained 


344  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

at  Peking  at  the  request  of  Prince  Chun,  nominally 
for  the  purpose  of  study,  but  probably  as  a hostage 
for  the  good  behavior  of  Yuan  Shih  Kai.  The  retire- 
ment of  Yuan  Shih  Kai  by  Prince  Chun  was  regarded 
by  most  foreigners  as  abandonment  by  the  prince  of 
any  sound  or  progressive  policy  for  China,  and  a 
return  to  the  reactionary  policy  of  the  Manchus. 
Again  Prince  Chun  aimed  at  “the  golden  mean*’  by 
the  appointment  of  a Manchu  as  the  successor  of  Yuan 
Shih  Kai,  Tuan  Fang,  a man  who  might  prove 
acceptable  to  the  conservatives  on  account  of  his 
Manchu  origin  and  to  the  progressives  on  account  of 
his  Western  training  and  his  advanced  ideas.  Un- 
fortunately, however,  Tuan  Fang’s  progressive  prin- 
ciples soon  made  him  unacceptable  to  the  Manchus, 
and  in  October,  1909,  he  was  removed  from  office; 
thus  revealing  the  fact  that  the  prince  regent  had  not 
the  courage  or  strength  to  carry  through  a consistent 
middle  course,  but  was  yielding  to  the  pressure  now  of 
one  faction  and  now  of  the  other.  During  this  same 
month  the  throne  was  further  weakened  by  the  death 
of  Chang  Chih-tung. 

We  now  come  to  another  act  in  which  Prince  Chun 
clearly  betrayed  his  weakness  and  took  the  wrong 
course  to  strengthen  his  hold  upon  the  army.  For 
fear  of  betrayal  by  the  army  he  appointed  in  1909  his 
older  brother,  Tsai  Hsun,  one  of  the  two  head  com- 
missioners of  the  navy,  and  his  younger  brother,  Tsai 
Tao,  one  of  the  two  chiefs  of  the  army.  The  step  was 
taken  for  the  evident  purpose  of  holding  the  army 
and  navy  loyal  to  the  throne.  A strong  ruler  would 
have  found  loyal  supporters  outside  his  own  family. 


THE  TRANSITION 


345 


and  Prince  Chun  especially  blundered  in  committing 
the  large  responsibility  of  the  control  of  the  army  and 
navy  of  the  nation  to  members  of  his  own  family  who 
were  notoriously  unfit.  Had  Prince  Chun  possessed 
the  insight  of  the  dowager  empress  and  of  Yuan  Shih 
Kai  and  perceived  that  the  temporary  support  of  every 
despotic  form  of  government  is  the  army,  he  would 
have  provided  that  his  soldiers  be  properly  fed,  clothed, 
paid,  armed,  and  led;  and  to  this  end  he  would  have 
selected  generals  who  were  loyal  to  himself  and  com- 
petent for  their  tasks.  Had  he  then  possessed  the 
insight  to  perceive  that  a just  and  progressive  gov- 
ernment is  the  permanent  support  of  a throne,  he 
might  have  guided  China  safely  through  this  grave 
transition  and  helped  her  to  establish  liberal  institu- 
tions. Only  a good  and  great  man  could  have  proved 
equal  to  this  task,  and  the  temporary  surrender  of 
Prince  Chun,  now  to  one  faction  and  now  to  another, 
simply  made  inevitable  the  revolution  which  swept 
him  from  the  throne.  In  August,  1910,  he  appointed 
Tang  Shao-yi,  a man  of  American  education  and  of 
great  ability,  president  of  the  Board  of  Commerce  and 
gave  him  a double  task — first  of  reconciling  the  inter- 
ests of  foreign  investors  with  the  interests  of  the 
Chinese  builders  of  the  new  railways,  and,  second,  of 
reconciling  the  claims  of  the  central  government,  aim- 
ing at  supreme  authority,  with  those  of  provincial 
rulers  determined  to  maintain  state  rights,  with  repre- 
sentatives of  both  groups  eager  for  the  profits  which 
would  arise  from  the  building  of  these  roads.  The 
struggle  between  the  representatives  of  the  provinces 
and  of  the  central  government  became  so  intense  that 


346  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

it  threatened  danger  to  the  nation.  January  9,  1911, 
Tang  Shao-yi  resigned  and  Sheng  Kimg-pao  (also 
called  Sheng  Hsuan-huai)  was  appointed  in  his  place. 
He  was  a man  of  large  ability,  but  he  had  a reputation 
for  graft.  He  immediately  succeeded  in  negotiating 
a small  loan  for  the  temporary  relief  of  the  govern- 
ment. 

On  January  14,  at  a meeting  in  Chang  Su-ho’s 
gardens  in  Shanghai,  a movement  was  formally  inaug- 
urated for  cutting  off  the  queue.  As  the  queue  was  a 
badge  of  subserviency  to  the  Manchu  government,  this 
movement  was  an  indirect  proclamation  of  indepen- 
dence by  the  Chinese.  The  movement  spread  like  wild- 
fire in  the  leading  cities.  February  13,  in  response  to 
this  expression  of  independence  by  the  people,  an 
imperial  rescript  was  issued  commanding  reform  and 
retrenchment.  This  was  followed  February  24  by  an- 
other imperial  decree  abrogating  torture  in  all  criminal 
trials. 

Prince  Chun  now  recognized  that  his  two  brothers 
were  not  competent  to  hold  the  army  and  navy  loyal  to 
the  throne  and  by  a decree  of  April  9,  1911,  placed 
himself  over  them  as  the  supreme  commander  of  the 
military  forces  of  the  nation.  April  7,  1911,  Sheng 
Kung-pao  negotiated  a second  loan,  this  time  with  the 
Eastern  Extension  and  Great  Northern  Telegraph 
Company,  for  $2,500,000,  gold.  April  18,  he  effected 
with  citizens  of  four  nations,  namely,  France,  Ger- 
many, Great  Britain,  and  the  United  States,  a loan  of 
$50,000,000,  gold.  These  loans,  while  secured  nom- 
inally for  the  nationalization  of  the  proposed  new  rail- 
ways, show  the  efforts  of  the  Manchu  dynasty  to 


THE  TRANSITION  347 

secure  funds  for  the  crisis  which  was  rapidly  ap- 
proaching. 

April  21,  1911,  Fu  Chi,  Tartar  general  of  Canton, 
was  shot  and  killed  by  an  assassin  who  professed  to 
be  a follower  of  Sun  Yat  Sen.  This  was  the  first 
indication  of  the  coming  outbreak.  April  28,  revolu- 
tionists in  Canton  attacked  Viceroy  Chang  Ming- 
chuh’s  yamen.  The  viceroy  escaped  through  a back 
door,  but  the  revolutionists  succeeded  in  assassinating 
two  of  the  prefects  serving  under  him.  May  8,  1911, 
Prince  Chun  yielded  to  the  liberal  element  far  enough 
to  carry  out  the  promise  made  to  the  National  As- 
sembly to  appoint  a Cabinet.  Through  this  measure 
the  National  Assembly  aimed  to  secure  a Cabinet 
whose  life,  like  the  life  of  the  Cabinets  in  England, 
would  depend  upon  the  vote  of  the  parliament.  Prince 
Chun,  however,  aimed  to  appoint  a Cabinet  whose 
life,  like  the  life  of  the  Cabinets  in  Germany,  would 
depend  upon  the  imperial  will,  and  he  further  irri- 
tated the  liberals  by  naming  Prince  Ching — the  prince 
of  corruptionists — as  the  head  of  the  new  Cabinet. 

May  9,  1911,  the  government  proclaimed  its  policy 
for  the  nationalization  of  the  railways  of  China.  An 
illustration  of  the  irony  of  history  is  found  in  the  fact 
that  in  the  technical  struggle  over  which  the  revolu- 
tion finally  broke.  Prince  Chun  was  in  the  right  and 
the  liberals  were  in  the  wrong.  This  technical 
struggle  was  over  the  question  whether  the  railways 
should  be  under  the  control  of  the  central  government 
or  under  the  control  of  the  various  provincial  govern- 
ments. Prince  Chun  stood  for  a national  ideal  as  over 
against  the  ideal  of  provincial  supremacy,  while  the 


348  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

provincial  authorities,  suffering  from  the  despotism  of 
preceding  centuries,  struggled  for  provincial  control. 
Every  American  can  see  how  dangerous,  especially  in 
time  of  war,  would  be  forty-eight  systems  of  Ameri- 
can railways,  each  under  a state,  rather  than  under 
national  control.  Surely,  if  China  is  to  protect  herself 
against  foreign  aggression,  she  must  have,  as  speedily 
as  possible,  a system  of  railways  extending  through- 
out the  nation  and  under  national  control,  by  which 
she  can  move  her  troops  quickly  to  any  point  where 
danger  threatens.  The  whole  political  history  of  the 
nineteenth  century  may  be  summed  up  in  a movement 
toward  nationalism  as  over  against  state  rights,  or  the 
rights  of  petty  independent  kingdoms.  In  this  last 
struggle  Prince  Chun  placed  himself  in  line  with 
great  statesmen  of  the  modern  world.  But  he  had  not 
the  strength  to  carry  out  his  plans.  Unfortunately 
also,  his  appointment  of  such  a reputed  corruptionist 
as  Sheng  Kung-pao  aroused  against  him  all  the  forces 
in  favor  of  honesty  as  well  as  those  in  favor  of  state 
rights,  and  he  was  soon  forced  to  yield  and  remove 
Sheng  Kung-pao  from  his  position.  Prince  Chun  at 
best  was  the  Hamlet  and  not  the  Henry  VI  of  China. 
No  man  who  gives  a nation  republican  institutions 
simply  because  he  is  not  strong  enough  to  help  him- 
self can  be  ranked  among  the  great  leaders  of  hu- 
manity. The  history  of  the  empress  dowager’s 
struggle  for  the  Red  Girdle  Clan  as  over  against  the 
Yellow  Girdle  Clan;  the  inevitable  committal  of  her- 
self to  the  side  found  moving  toward  liberal  institu- 
tions, as  over  against  political  and  religious  conserv- 
atism; the  selection  of  Jung  Lu’s  unborn  grandchild 


THE  TRANSITION 


349 


\ to  be  emperor  of  China ; the  failure  of  little  P’u  Yi  to 
j hold  the  scepter  through  the  weakness  of  his  father, 
Prince  Chun,  hint  at  the  epic  and  the  tragedy  of  the 
I modern  history  of  China. 

Books  of  Reference 

Bland,  J.  O.  P.,  and  Backhouse,  E. : China  under  the  Em- 
press Dowager. 


CHAPTER  XV 


THE  CHINESE  REPUBLIC 

The  nation  was  ripe  for  change.  In  the  preceding 
chapter  we  have  depicted  the  causes  for  dissatisfac- 
tion. The  people  were  angry  with  their  rulers  over  the 
humiliation  of  China  at  the  hands  of  foreigners.  The 
Manchu  authorities  had  sanctioned  the  Boxer  Upris- 
ing partly  as  a means  of  diverting  the  wrath  of  the 
Chinese  from  themselves.  Anger  against  the  Man- 
chus  was  still  greater  after  the  collapse  of  that  effort. 
The  people  were  becoming  convinced  that  the  dynasty 
had  “exhausted  the  mandate  of  Heaven.”  Foreign 
readers  should  have  at  least  brief  sketches  of  a few 
leaders  of  the  revolution. 

Sun  Yat  Sen  was  the  most  conspicuous  promoter 
of  the  republic.  He  was  born  in  1869,  son  of  a 
Chinese  Christian  parents,  educated  in  mission  schools 
and  later  trained  as  a physician  by  foreign  teachers. 
In  1895  he  led  a revolution  which  failed.  Some  of 
his  companions  were  beheaded,  but  he  escaped  the 
police  and  fled  the  country.  The  next  sixteen  years  he 
spent  in  collecting  funds  from  Chinese  in  Malaysia, 
Plawaii,  and  California,  planning  uprisings  and  writ- 
ing revolutionary  tracts.  The  struggle  portrayed 
in  preceding  chapters  developed  into  a revolution  some 
years  earlier  than  Sun  Yat  Sen  had  planned.  He  was 
in  Europe,  when  the  storm  broke  in  191 1.  He  hastened 
back  to  China,  arriving  in  Shanghai  without  men  or 

350 


THE  CHINESE  REPUBLIC 


351 


money  and  with  very  slight  personal  acquaintance 
with  the  leaders  of  the  revolution.  But  these  leaders 
were  casting  about  for  a head  for  the  republic.  Al- 
ready they  had  their  minds  upon  a compromise  involv- 
ing the  acceptance  of  a republic  by  the  north  and  the 
acceptance  of  Yuan  Shih  Kai  as  president  by  the  south. 
Sun  Yat  Sen  was  asked  if  he  would  accept  the  presi- 
dency of  the  provisional  republic  with  the  understand- 
ing that  he  would  resign  and  support  Yuan  Shih  Kai 
for  president  of  a permanent  republic,  providing  such 
an  arrangement  could  be  effected.^  Without  troops, 
without  money,  and  without  close  personal  friends  in 
China,  Sun  Yat  Sen  gladly  accepted  the  presidency  on' 
these  conditions.  On  the  other  side,  his  reputation 
as  one  of  the  oldest  and  foremost  advocates  of  a 
republic  for  China,  his  long  exile,  and  numerous  sacri- 
fices made  his  name  one  to  conjure  with;  and  he 
carried  out  in  good  faith  his  agreement  to  resign  in 
favor  of  Yuan  Shih  Kai.  His  later  union  with  Huang 
Hsing  in  the  rebellion  of  1913,  his  flight  to  Japan  as 
soon  as  the  rebellion  developed  its  weakness,  his  life 
under  the  protection  of  Japan,  and  his  efforts  to 
start  a third  revolution  are  well  known.  Perhaps 
it  is  too  early  to  form  a final  estimate  of  the  man. 
Thus  far  he  impresses  us  as  a John  the  Baptist  of 
the  republic.  He  is  a dreamer  superbly  confident  of 
his  dreams,  without  accurate  knowledge  or  executive 
capacity,  he  is  a plotter  rather  than  an  organizer,  with 
the  deceit  which  comes  from  years  of  fugitive  living 
and  plotting.  He  accepted  money  freely  from  the 
Japanese  government  and  from  Yuan  Shih  Kai  with 


* Millard,  T.  F.:  Editorial  in  the  China  Press,  July  26,  1913. 


352  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

no  sense  of  obligation  to  the  latter.^  Nevertheless, 
his  clear  face  and  his  honesty  in  narrating  his  plans 
indicate  that  he  is  essentially  sincere.  Of  rude  but 
forceful  oratory,  he  conquers  his  hearers  by  dazzling 
schemes  and  his  own  all-conquering  faith. 

Liang  Chih-chiao  rendered  as  great  a service  in 
preparing  for  the  revolution  as  did  Sun  Yat  Sen.  He 
was  one  of  the  advisers  of  the  throne  appointed  by 
Kwang-su  when  the  latter  entered  upon  his  revolution- 
ary program.  On  the  restoration  of  authority  to  the 
dowager  empress  in  1898,  Liang  Chih-chiao  and  Kang 
Yu-wei  were  two  of  the  imperial  advisers  who  suc- 
ceeded in  escaping  the  sword  of  the  dowager  empress 
by  fleeing  to  Japan.  Liang  Chih-chiao  was  the  best 
thinker  and  the  strongest  writer  of  the  revolutionary 
group;  and  his  tracts  probably  were  more  influential 
in  preparing  the  Chinese  for  the  overthrow  of  the 
dynasty  than  were  any  other  writings.  Certainly,  his 
writings  were  better  balanced  and  more  persuasive 
and  he  was  better  known  in  northern  China  which 
especially  needed  intellectual  preparation  if  the  nation 
was  to  move  as  a unit  in  the  revolution.  After  the 
revolution  triumphed  Yuan  Shih  Kai  invited  Liang 
Chih-chiao  to  a place  in  his  Cabinet.  Liang  felt  that 
he  could  render  better  service  to  China  as  an  independ- 
ent writer  than  as  a member  of  the  Cabinet.  Hence 
he  returned  to  Peking  and  published  a newspaper  in 
the  interests  of  the  new  government.  Liang  Chih- 

’ It  is  public  knowledge  that  the  government  founded  by  Sun  Yat  Sen  re- 
ceived money  from  the  Japanese  for  which  the  Japanese  secured  claims  upon 
the  Hanyang  Iron  Works  and  the  China  Merchants  Steamship  Company,  and 
that  Dr.  Sun  also  used  the  money  furnished  him  by  Yuan  Shih  Kai's  govern- 
ment for  developing  the  government  railways  in  plots  for  the  overthrow  of  Yuan. 


THE  CHINESE  REPUBLIC  353 

chiao  is  the  Cavour,  while  Kang  Yii-wei  is  at  best 
only  the  Mazzini,  of  China. 

Along  with  Liang  Chih-chiao  should  be  mentioned 
Wu  Tse-hseng,  another  very  strong  and  incorruptible 
writer  on  Chinese  political  subjects.  While  Wu  Tse- 
hseng  is  one  of  the  greatest  scholars  of  China,  he  pub- 
lished his  paper  and  his  tracts  in  Mandarin,  because 
Mandarin,  rather  than  the  more  classical  Wenli,  is  the 
language  of  the  common  people. 

Huang  Hsing,  whom  B.  Putnam  Weale  character- 
izes as  “The  Danton  of  the  Chinese  Revolution,”  “ 
was  born  in  Hunan  in  1875."* *  He  is  said  to  have  been 
born  under  a comet,  leading  wise  men  to  predict  that 
he  would  some  day  overthrow  the  Manchus  and  occupy 
the  throne  of  China.  If  the  account  is  true,  why  were 
not  a million  other  Chinese  boys  born  under  the  same 
comet  equally  destined  to  the  imperial  purple?  It  is 
not  necessary  in  China  that  such  an  account  be 
rational,  or  even  true,  but  only  that  it  be  accepted. 
Such  stories  in  regard  to  the  birth  of  heroes  are  easily 
spread  and  readily  believed,  and  this  legend  in  regard 
to  Huang  Hsing’s  birth  did  not  lack  circulation  or 
acceptance.® 

He  was  educated  in  a school  established  by  Chang 
Chih-tung  for  the  two  Hu  provinces.®  He  studied  at 
the  University  of  Tokyo  and  later  established  two 
schools  in  his  native  province,  in  which  he  filled  the 
minds  of  his  pupils  with  revolutionary  teachings  after 

’ In  a brilliant  article  published  in  the  Japan  Chronicle  and  republished  in 
the  National  Review  at  Shanghai,  May  3,  1913. 

* MuUoney,  J.  J„  M.D.:  A Revelation  of  the  Chinese  Revolution,  p.  14. 

® Weale.  B.  Putnam:  National  Review,  May  8.  1913. 

* Mxdloney,  J.  J.,  M.D.:  A Revelation  of  the  Chinese  Revolution,  p.  14. 


354  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

the  type  of  Rousseau.  His  boys  drank  in  his  words 
and  started  an  insurrection,  and  some  of  them  were 
promptly  beheaded,  but  Huang  Hsing  escaped  to 
Japan,  where  “the  man  of  action  met  the  dreamer.” 
He  and  Sun  Yat  Sen  organized  the  Tung  Men  Hui, 
pledged  to  deliver  China  from  the  Manchus;  they  col- 
lected funds  and  in  1906  following  the  Russo-Japanese 
War  they  started  a revolution  which  came  to  nothing. 
Weale  says  that  the  proclamation  of  the  revolution, 
which  was  scattered  over  the  Yangste  Valley  after 
the  Wuchang  uprising  of  1911,  was  prepared  six 
years  before  in  Japan.'^  When  he  heard  of  the  revolu- 
tion at  Wuchang  under  Li  Yuan  Hung,  Huang  Hsing 
hastened  to  his  native  province,  raised  some  Hunanese 
troops,  and  proclaimed  himself  “Eield  Marshal  of  the 
Revolutionary  Eorces.” *  * He,  however,  accepted  an 
appointment  under  Li  Yuan  Hung,  and  was  assigned 
by  him  to  the  defense  of  Hanyang,  which  General  Li 
had  captured.  Hanyang  Heights  are  the  Gibraltar 
of  central  China  and  General  Huang  Hsing,  once 
having  possession  of  them,  was  no  more  justified  in 
losing  them  than  was  General  Stoessel  in  surrender- 
ing Port  Arthur.  But  he  sent  two  thousand  of  his 
Hunanese  boys  across  the  river  in  open  boats  in  the 
face  of  the  direct  fire  of  the  imperial  troops  to  seize 
Hankow ; they  were  shot  or  drowned  almost  to  a man, 
and  a little  later  on,  owing  to  dissensions  and  dissatis- 
faction he  lost  Hanyang.  He  fled  to  Shanghai  to 
escape  the  wrath  of  General  Li,  who  denounced  him 
for  his  cowardice,  and  went  on  to  Canton  to  raise 


’ See  article  above  cited. 

* MuUoney,  J.  J.,  M.D.:  A Revelation  of  the  Chinese  Revolution,  p.  25. 


THE  CHINESE  REPUBLIC 


355 


another  army.  He  returned  from  Canton  to  Shang- 
hai with  some  troops  and  planned  to  become  the  head 
of  whatever  government  might  be  set  up  in  China.  All 
such  plans  were  rendered  impossible  because  of  Li 
Yuan  Hung’s  opposition;  and  the  provisional  presi- 
dency fell  to  Sun  Yat  Sen,  as  already  narrated. 
Huang  Hsing  opposed  Sun  Yat  Sen’s  surrender  of  the 
presidency  to  Yuan  Shih  Kai.  While  Sun  Yat  Sen 
was  the  nominal  head  of  the  rebellion  of  1913,  Gen- 
eral Huang  Hsing  was  its  real  leader.  He  is  the 
stormy  petrel  of  Chinese  politics. 

Tang  Shao-yi  was  the  most  brilliant  man  intellect- 
ually of  those  who  took  part  in  the  revolution.  Born 
in  Canton,  educated  in  the  United  States,  he  returned 
to  an  obscure  clerkship  in  the  Chinese  customs  service 
and  gradually  rose  in  office,  until  a quarter  of  a cen- 
tury later  he  became  vice-foreign  minister  for  China 
and  revolutionized  the  customs  service  over  night, 
politely  shifting  Sir  Robert  Hart  from  the  headship 
and  becoming  himself  one  of  the  chiefs  of  the  Customs 
Board  of  Control.  He  was  one  of  the  leaders  of  the 
opium  reform  and  later  was  called  by  Prince  Chun,  as 
already  narrated,  to  the  presidency  of  the  Board  of 
Commerce.  Later  he  retired  to  private  life ; on  the  out- 
break of  the  revolution  he  wrote  Yuan  Shih  Kai  twice 
and  on  Yuan’s  acceptance  of  office  went  to  Peking  to 
confer  with  him.  Appointed  by  Yuan  Shih  Kai,  Tang 
Shao-yi  went  to  Hankow  as  the  representative  of  the 
government  in  arranging  the  armistice  with  Li  Yuan 
Hung,  and  there  learned  that  Li  Yuan  Hung’s  condi- 
tion of  peace  was  the  acceptance  of  the  republic.  From 
Hankow  he  went  to  Shanghai  to  represent  Yuan  Shih 


356  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

Kai  in  conference  with  Wu  Ting  Fang,  the  foreign 
minister  of  Sun  Yat  Sen,  in  regard  to  the  terms  of 
peace  between  the  republic  and  the  Manchus.**  He 
arranged  more  fully  than  any  other  man  save  Yuan 
Shih  Kai  for  the  abdication  of  the  Manchus  as  the 
necessary  step  for  peace.  In  consenting  to  the  demand 
of  the  south  for  this  abdication,  he  outran  the  wishes 
of  the  Manchus  as  well  as  their  knowledge,  and  the 
Manchu  leaders  denounced  him  as  a betrayer  of  the 
throne,  and  expressed  their  determination  to  fight 
for  their  rights  to  the  bitter  end.  In  order  to  save 
Yuan  Shih  Kai  from  blame  by  the  Manchus,  Tang 
Shao-yi  advised  Yuan  to  repudiate  Tang’s  agreement 
for  the  Manchu  abdication,  discharge  him,  and  then 
to  lead  them  slowly  to  the  recognition  that  abdication 
was  inevitable  and  to  the  peaceable  acceptance  of  it. 
Yuan  Shih  Kai  followed  the  advice  of  Tang  Shao-yi, 
and  formally  discharged  him ; after  the  retirement  of 
the  Manchus,  he  called  him  back  to  public  service. 
More  fully  than  any  other  man,  Tang  Shao-yi  brought 
Yuan  Shih  Kai  himself  to  the  acceptance  of  the  repub- 
lican form  of  government  in  order  to  avoid  a civil  war 
with  Li  Yuan  Hung,  and  the  south  to  the  acceptance 
of  Yuan  Shih  Kai  as  president  in  order  to  avoid  a 
conflict  with  the  north.  As  General  Li  Yuan  Hung 
was  not  personally  ambitious  and  did  not  desire  the 
presidency,  he  strongly  favored  the  election  of  Yuan 
Shih  Kai.  In  a word,  Tang  Shao-yi’s  Contonese  birth, 
his  friendship  with  Cantonese  leaders,  his  ability  as 
a diplomat  to  see  both  sides,  and  his  own  successful 
career  enabled  him  more  fully  than  any  other  man  to 


• Millard,  T,  F.:  Editorial  in  the  China  Press,  July  26,  1913. 


THE  CHINESE  REPUBLIC 


357 


settle  the  conflicting  claims  between  the  north  and 
the  south,  to  determine  the  form  which  the  new  gov- 
ernment should  take,  and  to  select  Yuan  Shih  Kai  as 
the  president. 

On  accepting  the  presidency  Yuan  Shih  Kai  made 
Tang  Shao-yi  premier,  and  when  the  Five  Power 
Group  demanded  hard  and  difficult  conditions  for  a 
loan  to  the  new  republic — conditions  compromising  the 
sovereignty  of  the  republic — Tang  Shao-yi  arranged 
for  a Belgian  loan.  The  Five  Power  Group  insisted 
that  in  securing  this  loan  from  the  Belgians  the  new 
government  broke  the  contract  made  by  the  late 
Manchu  government  to  borrow  money  only  of  them- 
selves; and  as  the  new  government  had  pledged  itself 
to  observe  the  contracts  of  the  old  government  Tang 
Shao-yi  resigned.  If,  with  his  great  natural  ability 
and  his  Western  training,  Tang  Shao-yi  combined  the 
courage,  the  quickness  of  decision,  the  willingness  to 
assume  responsibility  and  the  firmness  which  char- 
acterize Yuan  Shih  Kai,  and  if  he  had  the  sterling 
honesty  and  were  willing  to  make  the  sacrifices  de- 
manded in  the  critical  conditions  which  confront 
China,  he  would  be  worthy  of  any  honors  in  the  gift 
of  the  republic.  He  has  the  gifts  and  many  of  the 
qualities  of  a great  statesman. 

Li  Yuan  Hung  was  brigadier-general  in  charge  of 
the  government  troops  at  Wuchang  at  the  outbreak 
of  the  revolution.  He  had  been  trained  in  Japan  and 
speaks  English,  imperfectly.  He  was  carrying  out 
the  government  orders  in  regard  to  disbanding  dis- 
affected troops  when  some  revolutionists  succeeded 
one  night  in  reaching  him  and  offered  him  the  alterna- 


358  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

tive  of  death  at  their  hands  or  leadership  of  the  revo- 
lution. He  refused  to  be  hurried  in  his  decision,  but 
took  some  hours  to  meditate  upon  the  problem.  Lack- 
ing sympathy  with  the  Manchus  and  looking  down 
the  barrel  of  a revolver,  he  at  last  decided  to  head  the 
revolution,  and  under  his  leadership  Wuchang  fell 
into  the  hands  of  the  revolutionists  the  next  day ; and 
a little  later  Hanyang  and  Hankow  on  the  north  side 
of  the  Yangste.  Both  Hankow  and  Hanyang  later 
were  recaptured.  Li  Yuan  Hung  proved  to  be  the 
fighting  leader  of  the  revolution  and  did  most  of  the 
fighting  required  for  the  overthrow  of  the  Manchus. 
He  has  impressed  most  persons  who  have  met  him,  as 
an  honest  man  of  moderate  ability  who  will  not  sacri- 
fice the  interests  of  China  or  his  convictions  to  am- 
bition. He  ought  yet  to  have  a useful  career  before 
him  in  the  service  of  his  country.  Such  were  a few 
of  the  leaders  of  the  Chinese  revolution. 

Turning  now  to  the  revolution,  during  the  summer 
of  1911  very  serious  floods  occurred  in  the  Yangtze 
Valley,  destroying  the  crops,  and  producing  famine 
and  distress ; and  they  helped  undermine  the  authority 
of  Prince  Chun,  because  they  were  attributed  to  the 
anger  of  Heaven  displaying  itself  against  the  Manchu 
rulers. 

August  24,  1911,  the  Szechwan  Railway  Bureau,  a 
body  of  contractors  whose  profits  were  lost  through 
the  nationalization  scheme,  inaugurated  a general 
strike  which  speedily  developed  into  revolution  in 
Chengtu,  the  capital  of  the  Szechwan  Province.  By 
September  14,  1911,  the  disorder  in  Szechwan  be- 
came so  great  that  the  British  and  American  consuls 


THE  CHINESE  REPUBLIC 


359 


issued  a letter  urging  all  missionaries  and  other  for- 
eigners to  leave  the  Szechwan  Province  and  repair 
immediately  to  Shanghai  or  other  eastern  cities.  At 
the  same  time  the  prince  regent  appointed  Tseng  Chen- 
hsuan,  the  popular  former  viceroy  of  Szechwan,  to 
take  charge  of  all  the  military  forces  in  the  province, 
and  Tuan  Fang  to  go  to  Szechwan  and  arrange  the 
railway  difficulties.  The  throne  was  thoroughly 
alarmed  by  the  spread  of  the  uprising.  Both  men  were 
directed  to  use  the  utmost  clemency  in  dealing  with 
the  people. 

September  i6,  the  imperial  bodyguard  at  Peking 
was  reviewed  by  Prince  Chun  in  person.  He  took 
occasion  to  present  to  the  bodyguard  his  own  colors — 
an  almost  unprecedented  glorification  of  the  army  and 
an  earnest  effort  on  his  part  to  keep  the  army  loyal 
to  himself. 

The  outbreak  at  Wuchang,  October  g,  1911,  is  gen- 
erally regarded  as  the  formal  inauguration  of  the  revo- 
lution. October  14,  1911,  Yuan  Shih  Kai  was  recalled 
by  imperial  decree.  He  did  not,  however,  immediately 
accept  office  under  the  Manchu  dynasty.  October  21, 
Ichang,  in  the  Hupeh  Province,  and  Changsha,  the 
capital  of  the  Hunan  Province,  passed  over  to  the  revo- 
lution. October  24,  Kiukiang,  the  Yangtze  River  port 
of  the  Kiangsi  Province,  joined  the  revolutionists. 
The  same  day  the  new  Tartar  general  of  Canton, 
Feng  Shan,  was  blown  to  pieces  by  a bomb  as  he 
attempted  to  make  a landing.  October  25,  Sianfu, 
the  capital  of  the  Shensi  Province,  and  an  old  capital 
of  China,  revolted  and  set  up  an  independent  govern- 
ment for  that  province.  October  25  to  29  Hankow 


36o  CHINA:  AN' INTERPRETATION  ' 

was  recaptured  by  the  imperialists  under  General  Yin 
Chang.  The  city  was  largely  destroyed  by  shells  and 
incendiary  fires  of  the  imperialists. 

October  26  Prince  Chun  yielded  to  the  demands 
of  the  National  Assembly,  which  had  reconvened,  and 
dismissed  from  office  Sheng  Kung-pao.  October  30 
the  prince  regent  issued  his  famous  Decree  of  Peni- 
tence, in  which,  in  the  name  of  the  little  emperor,  he 
confessed  the  sins  of  the  dynasty. 

November  i,  Nanchang,  the  capital  of  the  Kiangsi 
Province,  renounced  Manchu  rule.  The  same  day 
Yuan  Shih  Kai,  who  had  thus  far  refused  to  leave  his 
home  and  go  to  Peking  in  response  to  the  appeals  of 
the  throne,  issued  a declaration  in  favor  of  peace  and 
entered  into  a negotiation  for  peace  with  Li  Yuan 
Hung. 

November  2,  in  response  to  a demand  by  the  imperial 
troops  at  Lanchow  in  the  Chihli  Province,  the  prince 
regent  promised  to  accept  a constitution.  So  far  from 
the  Decree  of  Penitence  and  the  pledge  to  accept  a 
constitution  stopping  the  revolution,  these  acts  appar- 
ently encouraged  the  revolutionists  the  more,  and 
November  3 to  9,  1911,  Shanghai,  Soochow,  Hashing, 
Ningpo,  Shaohsingfu,  Chinkiang,  Changchow,  Ku, 
Sungkiangfu,  and  Anking,  capital  of  the  Anhwei 
Province,  passed  over  to  the  revolutionists.  Shanghai 
is  the  leading  commercial  city  of  China ; the  Shanghai 
revolutionary  government  immediately  appointed  Wu 
Ting  Fang  foreign  minister  of  the  revolutionists,  with 
instructions  to  secure  foreign  recognition  of  the  revo- 
lution. November  9 Canton  joined  the  revolution- 
ists and  proclaimed  an  independent  republic  for 


THE  CHINESE  REPUBLIC  361 

Kwantung.  November  9 to  1 1 Foochow,  under  Gen- 
eral Sung,  a former  Manchu,  after  two  days  skirmish- 
ing overthrew  the  Manchus,  thus  carrying  the  Fukien 
province  over  to  the  side  of  the  revolution,  the  viceroy 
of  the  province  committing  suicide.  November  ii, 
191 1,  Wu  Ting  Fang  published  an  appeal  to  the  prince 
regent,  in  the  interest  of  the  peace  of  the  nation,  to 
abdicate. 

November  13,  Yuan  Shih  Kai  reached  Peking,  but 
gave  the  Manchus  no  explanation  of  his  independent 
efforts  to  establish  peace  with  Li  Yuan  Hung.  Indeed, 
he  entered  Peking  quite  as  much  the  representative 
of  the  Chinese  people  as  of  the  Manchu  government. 
November  9 to  13  the  two  provinces  of  Hunan  and 
Kweichow  joined  the  revolutionists.  November  14, 
Mukden,  the  leading  city  in  Manchuria,  appointed  a 
committee  of  safety  with  Viceroy  Chao  Er-hsun  as 
president.  This  action  carried  the  provinces  of  Kirin, 
Shengking,  and  Heilungkiang,  embracing  the  old 
home  of  the  Manchus,  against  the  dynasty.  The  same 
day  Shantung  province  proclaimed  itself  a republic 
with  its  governor,  Sun  Pao-chi,  as  president. 

November  26,  1911,  the  throne  swore  allegiance  to 
the  eighteen  articles  of  the  constitution  which  had 
been  framed  by  the  National  Assembly  at  Peking. 
Early  in  November  Viceroy  Chang  Ju  Chun  at 
Nanking,  the  old  capital  of  China,  announced  that 
the  city  might  go  over  to  the  revolutionists,  but 
Chang  Hsun,  the  Manchu  general  in  command  of  the 
troops,  thrust  the  viceroy  into  prison  and  declared  that 
he  and  his  men  would  die  fighting  before  they  would 
surrender  Nanking  to  the  republicans.  The  repub- 


362  CHINA;  AN  INTERPRETATION 

lican  army  marched  on  Nanking  and  easily  captured 
Purple  Mountain,  overlooking  the  city,  and  brought 
their  guns  directly  to  bear  upon  the  city.  December 
I,  19 1 1 in  view  of  the  fact  that  the  city  was  at  the 
mercy  of  the  revolutionists  and  could  be  destroyed 
by  the  cannon,  missionaries  induced  General  Chang 
Hsun  to  leave  the  city.  Accompanied  by  a body  of 
soldiers  who  remained  loyal  to  him,  he  retreated  north, 
crossing  the  Yangtze  River  and  marching  along  the 
line  of  the  Pukow-Tientsin  Railway  to  Suchowfu. 
The  rest  of  the  army  and  the  people  of  Nanking  wel- 
comed the  revolutionists. 

December  2,  Lung  Yu,  the  widow  of  Kwang-su, 
now  the  dowager  empress,  published  a decree  announc- 
ing the  abdication  of  the  throne  by  P’u  Yi  and  of  the 
regency  of  Prince  Chun.  This  brings  to  a conclusion 
one  stage  of  the  revolution,  namely,  the  downfall  of 
the  Manchus. 

The  problem  which  now  confronted  the  people  was 
the  form  of  government  which  should  succeed  the 
Manchu  dynasty.  The  people  south  of  the  Yangtze 
River  were  demanding  not  simply  the  abdication  of 
the  Manchus  but  also  the  formation  of  a republic.  As 
already  narrated,  a few  leaders  had  chosen  Sun  Yat 
Sen  as  president  of  the  provisional  republic,  and  he 
had  appointed  a Cabinet  with  Wu  Ting  Fang  as 
foreign  minister.  Meantime  a few  leaders  in  the 
north  were  not  idle.  We  are  told  on  good  authority, 
though  we  are  not  at  liberty  to  quote  the  official’s 
name,  that  Yuan  Shih  Kai,  almost  immediately  after 
reaching  Peking,  recognized  that  the  Manchu  dy- 
nasty was  doomed  and  conferred  as  a private  person 


THE  CHINESE  REPUBLIC  363 

with  the  representatives  of  the  foreign  governments 
at  Peking,  not  in  their  official  capacity  but  as  private 
persons,  in  regard  to  the  form  of  government  which 
it  would  be  advisable  for  the  Chinese  people  to  adopt 
in  the  present  crisis.  We  are  assured  that  the  advice 
which  he  received  from  all  monarchical  governments 
was  strongly  in  favor  of  a monarchy,  and  that  men 
who  belonged  to  republics  said  that  they  thought 
China  was  not  yet  ready  for  a republic,  but  would 
better  accept  a constitutional  monarchy  for  twenty- 
five  or  fifty  years  as  a preparation  for  republican 
institutions.  We  are  told  that  the  representative  of 
Japan  went  so  far  as  to  promise  Yuan  Shih  Kai  finan- 
cial help,  and,  in  case  of  necessity,  military  help  from 
the  Japanese  government  for  the  preservation  of  mon- 
archical institutions.  As  a monarchy  was  in  line  with 
Yuan  Shih  Kai’s  convictions  he  sent  Tang  Shao-yi 
south  to  confer  with  Li  Yuan  Hung  and  Wu  Ting 
Fang  with  instructions  that  Tang  was  to  favor  a 
monarchical  form  of  government.  Tang  Shao-yi  en- 
countered the  opposition  of  Li  Yuan  Hung,  who  was 
determined  that  China  should  adopt  a republican  form 
of  government;  otherwise  his  army  would  continue  to 
fight.  He  also  encountered  the  opposition  of  Wu  Ting 
Fang,  who  was  confident  of  Japanese  support  of  the 
southern  claims  on  the  ground  that  Japanese  already 
had  advanced  money  to  the  republic  with  the  Hanyang 
Iron  Works  and  the  China  Merchants’  Steamship 
property  pledged  as  security.  Sun  Yat  Sen  and  Wu 
Ting  Fang  also  claimed  strong  assurances  from  cer- 
tain Japanese  that  their  government  would  support 
the  republic.  On  the  mutual  discovery  that  Japanese 


364  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

officials  were  pledging  support  to  the  monarchy  and 
Japanese  citizens  were  pledging  support  to  the  re- 
public, each  claiming  the  backing  of  the  Japanese 
government,  the  leaders  of  both  sides  saw  the  danger 
of  Japanese  intervention  in  case  of  a civil  war.  De- 
cember 20  the  six  great  powers,  France,  Germany, 
Great  Britain,  Japan,  Russia  and  the  United  States, 
expressed  through  their  consuls  at  Shanghai  the 
earnest  hope  that  peace  might  be  reestablished.  This 
action  rested  upon  an  earlier  action  of  Secretary 
Knox  and  President  Taft,  begun  at  the  outbreak  of 
the  revolution,  in  which  they  secured  a mutual  agree- 
ment between  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain, 
France,  Germany,  and  Russia  that  no  intervention 
should  take  place  in  China  without  the  consent  and 
cooperation  of  a majority  of  these  powers.  A little 
later  Japan  joined  in  the  agreement;  and  this  joint 
strong  expression  of  a desire  for  peace  was  the  re- 
sult of  the  binding  together  of  the  great  powers  of 
the  world  for  the  maintenance  of  the  integrity  and 
independence  of  China.  As  Li  Yuan  Hung  remained 
stubborn  as  to  the  form  of  government,  but  had  no 
personal  ambition  for  the  presidency  and  desired  that 
the  office  should  go  to  Yuan  Shih  Kai,  a compromise 
was  effected  by  the  acceptance  on  the  part  of  the  north 
of  a republic  as  the  form  of  government  and  upon  the 
part  of  the  south,  of  Yuan  Shih  Kai  as  president.  We 
are  assured  that  this  compromise  was  not  at  all  accept- 
able to  representatives  in  China  of  the  various  monar- 
chical governments  of  the  world.  A successful  re- 
public in  China  would  prove  particularly  dangerous 
to  Japan,  where  universal  primary  education  had  pro- 


THE  CHINESE  REPUBLIC  365 

ducecl  a reading  class  wlio  were  groaning  under  the 
burdens  of  militarism;  to  India,  where  the  educated 
class  were  not  able  to  secure  government  employment 
and  regarded  commercial  and  industrial  life  as  degrad- 
ing; to  the  French  protectorates  in  Tonquin  and 
Cochin  China,  which  were  not-administered  on  repub- 
lican principles.  A republic,  on  general  principles,  was 
obnoxious  to  Russia,  Austria,  Germany,  etc.  The  only 
governments  which  earnestly  desired  a republic  were 
Switzerland,  the  United  States,  and  some  South 
American  republics.  Even  many  of  the  representa- 
tives of  the  United  States  in  China  felt  that  a republic 
was  premature. 

On  the  other  hand,  all  the  leaders  of  young  China 
were  favorable  to  a republic.  They  maintained,  with 
reason,  that  the  Chinese  would  not  be  satisfied  with  a 
despotic  form  of  monarchy,  and  that  as  much  intelli- 
gence is  required  to  maintain  a real  constitutional 
monarchy  with  a Parliament  dependent  upon  the  votes 
of  the  people,  as  to  maintain  a republic.  They  asserted 
furthermore  that  they  were  not  anxious  to  have  a full- 
fledged  republic  immediately;  that  they  were  willing 
to  see  Yuan  Shih  Kai  elected  president  for  a long  term, 
and  possibly  reelected,  so  that  he  might  practically 
serve  during  his  lifetime ; but  that  the  Chinese  people 
ought  to  determine  who  should  succeed  Yuan  Shih 
Kai.  If  a monarchy  were  adopted.  Yuan  Shih  Kai’s 
oldest  son,  who  was  not  a promising  candidate,  would 
naturally  succeed  him  on  the  throne ; and  a revolution 
would  be  necessary  on  the  part  of  the  Chinese  in  order 
to  place  upon  the  throne  the  man  whom  they  then 
might  think  fittest.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  a republican 


366  CHINA;  AN  INTERPRETATION 

form  of  government  were  adopted,  at  the  close  of 
Yuan  Shih  Kai’s  career  the  Chinese  leaders  could 
select  the  most  competent  man  to  succeed  to  the  throne, 
and  Yuan  Shih  Kai’s  son  would  be  obliged  to  start  a 
revolution  in  order  to  succeed  his  father.  Upon  the 
whole,  therefore,  they  thought  that  a republican  form 
of  government,  even  though  it  found  imperfect  em- 
bodiment at  first,  was  the  best,  and  the  only  permanent 
solution  of  the  problem. 

The  decision  in  favor  of  a republic  was  brought 
about  by  the  firmness  of  Li  Yuan  Hung  and  deter- 
mination of  his  army  in  its  favor.  It  became  very 
clear  to  Yuan  Shih  Kai  that  a monarchy  could  not  be 
established  in  China  without  a civil  war ; and  he  was 
resolved  not  to  resort  to  a war  with  his  own  country- 
men over  the  form  of  government  which  should  pre- 
vail. Yuan  Shih  Kai  decided  in  favor  of  the  republic, 
and  the  problem  was  solved  by  the  dowager  empress 
formally  announcing  February  12,  1912,  the  accep- 
tance of  the  republic  by  the  Chinese  throne  and  pledg- 
ing the  Manchu  support  to  the  same ; by  the  resigna- 
tion February  14  of  Dr.  Sun  Yat  Sen  as  provisional 
president  and  his  earnest  recommendation  of  the  elec- 
tion of  Yuan  Shih  Kai  as  permanent  president,  and 
by  the  unanimous  election,  February  15,  of  Yuan  Shih 
Kai  to  the  presidency  of  the  republic.  Yuan  Shih  Kai 
agreed  to  go  south  and  be  inaugurated  as  president  at 
Nanking.  A riot  on  the  part  of  the  Peking  soldiers 
March  i,  the  night  before  Yuan  Shih  Kai  was  to  start 
for  Nanking,  led  to  a general  acquiescence  in  the 
inauguration  of  Yuan  Shih  Kai  at  Peking  instead 
of  Nanking;  and  March  2,  1912,  he  was  formally 


THE  CHINESE  REPUBLIC 


367 

inaugurated  president  of  the  United  Chinese  Republic. 
April  8,  1913,  the  National  Assembly  met  at  Peking 
to  draft  a constitution,  and  May  2,  1913,  the  Chinese 
Republic  was  recognized  by  the  United  States. 

Turning,  in  conclusion,  to  the  outlook  for  the  re- 
public, China  is  confronted  by  two  most  serious  prob- 
lems. First,  the  problem  of  maintaining  her  existence 
and  integrity  as  a nation  and,  second,  the  problem  of 
developing  a representative  form  of  government.  The 
first  is  the  most  immediate  and  pressing  problem.  It 
is  idle  to  talk  about  a greater  or  less  degree  of  consti- 
tutional government,  so  long  as  the  very  existence  of 
a nation  as  over  against  foreign  aggression  is  hanging 
in  the  balance.  The  most  imperative  need  of  China 
to-day  is  the  development  of  patriotism,  the  growth  of 
such  a national  spirit  as  will  lead  the  Chinese  to  look 
upon  the  country  as  a whole,  and  gladly  to  make  all 
sacrifices  necessary  for  the  maintenance  of  its  exist- 
ence. They  must  be  willing  to  pay  such  taxes  as  will 
be  required  for  the  maintenance  of  an  army  for  de- 
fense. Down  to  the  time  when  he  accepted  the  crown, 
a majority  of  foreign  observers  residing  in  China,  of 
students  of  Chinese  affairs  in  other  lands,  and  probably 
a majority  of  the  Chinese  leaders,  regarded  Yuan  Shih 
Kai  as  the  best  present  ruler.  They  thought  if  he 
could  maintain  the  integrity  and  the  independence  of 
the  Chinese  nation  without  a foreign  war,  or  without 
the  downfall  of  China  in  case  of  a foreign  war,  he 
would  prove  the  providential  man  for  the  present 
crisis. 

The  second  grave  problem  which  confronts  China  is 
not  simply  the  continued  existence  and  integrity  of 


368  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

the  nation,  but  the  quality  of  national  life  which  she 
will  develop.  How  rapidly  can  she  realize  representa- 
tive institutions  ? All  students  of  political  institutions 
recognize  that  representative  government  is  a growth 
and  not  a gift.  China  must  develop  republicanism  for 
herself — not  borrow  a constitution  from  America;  and 
all  true  friends  of  the  nation  and  of  republican  insti- 
tutions must  be  content  to  see  the  Chinese  move  slowly, 
provided  only  they  move  in  the  right  direction.  A man 
with  the  gifts  for  leadership,  the  strength  of  purpose 
and  the  military  equalities  of  Yuan  Shih  Kai  is  tempted 
to  establish  and  maintain  a strong  government  instead 
of  a representative  government.  Men  of  this  type 
are  more  anxious  to  see  things  accomplished  than  con- 
cerned about  the  methods  by  which  the  task  is  done. 
Such  men  are  impatient  over  the  debates,  the  delays, 
and  the  compromises  of  representative  government. 
Hence  it  is  not  unnatural  for  Yuan  Shih  Kai,  like 
Cromwell,  to  swing  back  toward  a monarchy.  More- 
over, all  friends  of  China  were  disappointed  over  the 
factions,  the  distrust  of  each  other  and  the  corruption 
appearing  among  the  members  of  the  late  Parliament. 
Representative  government  existed  only  in  form.  But 
the  Chinese  leaders  felt  that  if  only  they  could  preserve 
the  form  for  a time,  presently  they  would  secure  the 
substance.  Li  Yuan  Hung  recommended  the  election 
of  Yuan  Shih  Kai  to  the  presidency  for  a second  term 
of  eight  or  ten  years,  in  order  that  China  might  have 
unbroken  leadership  during  the  critical  years  of  the 
formation  of  the  republic. 

A simple  record  of  recent  events  shows,  in  the  ex- 
pressive jdirase  of  the  Chinese,  that  while  Yuan  Shih 


THE  CHINESE  REPUBLIC 


369 


Kai’s  Ups  spoke  for  the  republic  his  heart  beat  for 
monarchy.  During  the  early  fall  of  1913  the  rebellion 
of  Sun  Yat  Sen  and  Huang  Hsing  collapsed  and  they 
both  escaped  from  China.  October  5,  1913,  the  Parlia- 
ment passed  a law  by  which  the  president  was  to  be 
elected  by  Parliament,  for  a term  of  five  years,  and 
was  to  be  eligible  for  a second  term,  and  reelected 
Yuan  Shih  Kai  for  this  period,  thus  placing  the  des- 
tinies of  China  in  his  hands  down  to  1918.  November 
6,  1913,  Yuan  Shih  Kai  expelled  from  Parliament  the 
Kuomintang  party,  numbering  three  hundred  and  ten 
members,  on  the  ground  that  they  had  conspired  with 
Sun  Yat  Sen  and  Huang  Hsing  to  promote  the  late 
rebellion.  This  “purging  of  Parliament,”  with  the 
departure  of  other  members  through  fear,  left  no 
quorum;  and  January  ii,  1914,  Yuan  Shih  Kai  form- 
ally dissolved  the  Parliament;  and  instructed  the 
governors  to  dissolve  the  Provincial  Assemblies.  Be- 
fore the  dissolution  Yuan  Shih  Kai  chose  a Political 
Council  to  aid  him  in  selecting  a Constitutional  Com- 
mission. This  Constitutional  Commission,  of  sixty-five 
persons,  is  composed  of  representatives  of  scholarship, 
of  business  experience,  and  of  political  experience. 
In  a sense  it  fairly  represents  the  best  elements  of 
China;  but  it  is  too  fully  dominated  by  the  president 
for  its  action  to  command  the  confidence  of  the  nation. 
Dr.  Frank  J.  Goodnow,  president  of  the  Johns  Hopkins 
University,  was  constitutional  adviser  to  the  republic, 
and  drafted  for  it  a constitution  far  superior  to  the  one 
adopted  at  Nanking.  The  Constitutional  Commission 
modified  Dr.  Goodnow’s  proposed  constitution  by  ex- 
tending the  presidential  term  to  ten  years,  with  no  bar 


370  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

to  reelection.  It  adopted  this  modified  constitution; 
and  on  December  9,  1914,  once  more  elected  Yuan 
Shih  Kai  president,  thus  extending  his  term  of  office 
until  December,  1924. 

October  6,  1915,  the  question  of  restoring  the  mon- 
archy having  been  raised.  Yuan  Shih  Kai  issued  a 
decree  calling  upon  certain  specified  electors  to  vote 
upon  it,  the  election  being  under  the  control  of  the 
governors  who  owed  their  appointments  to  Yuan  Shih 
Kai.  Each  voter  registered  his  preference  and  signed 
his  name  to  his  ballot.  Most  of  those  who  voted  for 
the  monarchy  designated  Yuan  Shih  Kai  as  their 
choice  for  emperor.  Signing  the  ballot  led  some  who 
at  heart  were  opposed  to  the  monarchy  to  vote  for  it, 
as  we  were  personally  informed  by  voters.  Many 
electors  failed  to  vote.  As  these  at  heart  were  either 
opposed  to  the  monarchy  or  else  indifferent  to  it.  Yuan 
Shih  Kai’s  claim  of  popular  support  for  his  imperial 
ambition  is  not  well  grounded.  Dec.  ii,  1915,  the 
Council  of  State  invited  Yuan  Shih  Kai  to  assume  the 
throne. 

Undoubtedly  there  is  in  China  a group  of  political 
and  religious  conservatives  who  prefer  to  return  to 
the  old  ways ; but  the  people  as  a whole  did  not  desire 
an  agitation  of  this  subject  at  the  present  time.  The 
United  States  hoped  for  the  success  of  the  republic, 
but  felt  debarred  from  taking  any  part  in  the  domestic 
affairs  of  a neighboring  nation  and  did  not  feel  called 
upon  to  support  by  arms  a republican  form  of  govern- 
ment in  China.  Monarchical  governments  were  from 
the  first  unfavorable  to  the  republic  on  account  of  its 
possible  reflex  influence  upon  their  own  peoples.  One 


THE  CHINESE  REPUBLIC 


371 


nation  with  whom  China  knew  she  mig^ht  be  called 
upon  to  reckon  expressed  a desire  in  1915  that  China 
might  return  to  a monarchical  form  of  government. 
Yuan  Shih  Kai  in  the  condition  in  which  he  was 
placed  felt  a pressure  to  regard  this  wish,  and  he  acted 
according  to  it.  Later,  after  the  new  monarchy  was 
almost  consummated  Great  Britain,  Russia,  France 
and  Japan  openly  advised  that  action  be  not  taken  at 
the  present  time.  Accordingly  Yuan  Shih  Kai  post- 
poned the  coronation.  Uprisings  against  the  mon- 
archy in  Yunnan,  Szechwan,  and  other  provinces 
arose.  There  was  deep,  sullen  discontent  throughout 
southern  and  western  China  against  the  monarchy. 
A.  D.  1916,  March  21,  Yuan  Shih  Kai  canceled  the 
action  of  the  Council  of  State  of  Dec.  ii,  1915,  and 
directed  that  the  petitions  for  him  to  accept  the  throne 
be  returned  to  the  original  signers  for  destruction. 
A.  D.  1916,  March  23,  Yuan  Shih  Kai  issued  a decree 
restoring  the  republic.  Thus  the  republic  was  granted 
a renewed  lease  of  life  through  the  steady  pressure  of 
Chinese  sentiment  in  its  favor.  The  following  con- 
siderations lead  to  the  conviction  that  China  will  in 
the  long  run  maintain  some  form  of  representative 
government,  preferably  a republic : 

I.  No  one  can  have  watched  the  grave  revolution 
which  led  to  the  overthrow  of  the  Manchus  without 
seeing  how  potent  public  sentiment  is  in  China.  So  far 
as  the  fighting  was  concerned,  it  was  by  no  means  over- 
whelmingly in  favor  of  the  republican  forces.  The 
only  hard  fighting  between  the  Manchus  and  the  re- 
publican forces  occurred  in  and  around  Hankow.  Wu- 
chang, Hankow  and  Hanyang  fell  into  the  hands  of 


372  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

the  revolutionists  almost  without  a struggle.  When 
the  Manchu  authorities  sent  General  Yin  Chang  south, 
the  fighting  between  his  forces  and  Li  Yuan  Hung’s 
troops  was  worthy  of  any  soldiers.  It  will  be  remem- 
bered, however,  that  after  a desperate  struggle.  Gen- 
eral Yin  Chang  recaptured  Hankow,  and  even  Han- 
yang, previously  referred  to  as  the  Gibraltar  of  China. 
The  struggle  of  the  revolutionists  seemed  hopeless. 
But,  marvelous  to  relate,  the  defeat,  so  far  from  chang- 
ing the  purpose  of  the  Chinese  people,  simply  deepened 
their  determination  to  throw  off  the  Manchu  yoke; 
and  every  Manchu  victory  was  followed  by  the  passing 
over  of  city  after  city  and  province  after  province  to 
the  side  of  the  revolutionists.  Between  the  outbreak 
of  the  revolution,  October  9,  1911,  and  January  10, 
1912,  eighteen  of  the  twenty-two  provinces  had  form- 
ally renounced  Manchu  rule  and  proclaimed  them- 
selves in  favor  of  some  form  of  government  by  the 
Chinese;  and  it  was  this  declaration  of  the  people 
against  Manchu  rule,  far  more  than  any  efforts  of  the 
army  or  any  negotiations  of  mediators,  which  deter- 
mined the  abdication  of  the  Manchus.  In  a word,  the 
Manchus  accepted  the  old  Chinese  proverb: 

Heaven  hears  as  the  people  hear. 

Heaven  sees  as  the  people  see. 

Here  is  a striking  proof  that  whatever  may  be  the 
form  of  Chinese  government,  in  substance  it  is  a 
government  of  the  people. 

2.  Friends  of  republican  government  cannot  fail 
to  be  impressed  with  the  gravity  and  care  with  which 
the  nation  moved  toward  this  form  of  government. 


THE  CHINESE  REPUBUC 


373 

The  appointment  of  at  least  two  separate  commissions 
to  study  the  forms  of  government  of  other  nations  and 
their  report  in  favor  of  representative  government,  the 
appointment  of  provisional  advisory  assemblies  in  the 
provinces  and  of  a provisional  advisory  national 
assembly  in  preparation  for  parliamentary  govern- 
ment, and  the  limitation  of  the  suffrage  by  intelligence, 
property,  and  moral  qualifications  so  that  only  approx- 
imately one  million  persons  became  electors,  all  show 
the  care  with  which  the  Chinese  rulers  adopted  repub- 
lican institutions.  Men  who  make  such  wise  provi- 
sions for  the  establishment  of  a republican  form  of 
government  instinctively  reveal  their  fitness  for  repre- 
sentative government. 

3.  But  the  largest  hope  of  the  Chinese  Republic 
rests  in  the  considerable  amount  of  training  which  the 
people  have  had  in  local  self-government.  Already  we 
have  discussed  the  struggle  between  feudalism  and 
nationalism,  and  called  attention  to  the  fact  that 
the  emperor,  in  order  to  weaken  the  authority  of  the 
feudal  princes,  encouraged  the  people.  Accordingly, 
the  national  authority  has  for  centuries  largely  termi- 
nated with  the  Hsien,  or  county  official,  who  is  in 
charge  of  a region  about  the  size  of  an  American 
county,  but  with  a population  as  large  as  is  usually 
found  in  an  American  congressional  district.  The 
people  of  the  county  are  responsible  to  this  Hsien  offi- 
cial for  their  taxes,  and  for  the  maintenance  of  order, 
and  they  know  that  in  case  of  failure  on  their  part, 
they  must  expect  the  interference  of  the  Hsien  official 
and  his  assistants.  Aside  from  this  recognition  of  the 
sovereignty  of  the  nation,  all  local  affairs  are  con- 


374  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

trolled  by  the  people.  This  long  training  in  local  self- 
government  is  an  admirable  preparation  for  the  exten- 
sion of  self-government  to  the  provinces  and  to  the 
nation. 

4.  As  an  integral  part  of  this  local  self-government 
the  Chinese  have  had  a further  remarkable  prepara- 
tion for  democracy  in  their  centuries  of  gild  govern- 
ment described  in  Chapter  II.  Just  as  the  gilds  of 
Europe  during  the  Middle  Ages  more  than  any  other 
single  agency  prepared  the  way  for  the  free  cities  and 
contributed  largely  to  the  overthrow  of  the  barons 
and  the  downfall  of  feudalism,  so  the  gilds  of  China, 
with  their  free  discussions,  their  annual  elections  of 
officers,  their  give-and-take  in  arranging  terms  of 
business,  their  power  in  initiative  and  their  willingness 
to  meet  responsibility,  furnish  a providential  prepara- 
tion for  representative  government. 

Finally,  the  brief  history  of  the  first  republic  is  full 
of  promise.  Personally  we  left  Peking  Oct.  10, 
1911,  the  day  following  the  outbreak  in  Wuchang, 
and  during  the  next  five  months  traveled  through 
central  and  southern  China.  During  this  entire  trip, 
in  which  we  heard  the  opinions  of  certainly  more  than 
a thousand  different  Chinese,  only  one  single  person, 
a Mohammedan  priest  at  Foochow,  expressed  con- 
fidence that  the  Manchus  would  maintain  their  place, 
while  the  remainder  said,  “The  Manchus  have  ex- 
hausted the  mandate  of  Heaven.”  Again,  before 
the  outbreak  of  the  rebellion  under  Sun  Yat  Sen 
and  Huang  Hsing,  in  1913,  we  made  a second  trip 
over  much  the  same  territory,  hearing  on  this  occa- 
sion from  representatives  of  the  Kiangsi  Province 


THE  CHINESE  REPUBLIC 


375 


more  fully  than  from  the  Fukien  Province.  Here 
again,  out  of  perhaps  a thousand  opinions  expressed, 
only  one  was  in  favor  of  the  rebellion.  While  Yuan 
Shill  Kai  was  not  popular  in  the  Yangtse  Valley,  yet 
it  was  astonishing  to  see  the  overwhelming  sentiment 
in  central  China  against  a second  revolution ; and 
the  second  revolution  soon  collapsed.  In  a word, 
affairs  in  China  moved  in  accordance  with  the  over- 
whelming judgment  of  the  people. 

Again,  it  is  remarkable  that  Yuan  Shih  Kai  suc- 
ceeded in  reestablishing  the  authority  of  the  central 
government  against  the  claims  for  independence  upon 
the  part  of  several  of  the  provinces.  In  this  regard 
China  has  secured  in  three  years,  without  war,  a 
victory  in  favor  of  nationalism  which  Italy,  Germany, 
and  the  United  States  won  only  after  bloody  wars. 
Moreover,  Yuan  Shih  Kai  put  forth  earnest  efforts 
for  the  establishment  of  civil  service  reform.  As 
already  narrated,  he  not  only  issued  proclamations 
urging  the  abolition  of  the  old  system  of  graft,  but 
he  went  so  far  as  to  ratify  the  death  penalty  pro- 
nounced by  a lower  court  and  confirmed  by  the  Su- 
preme Court  of  the  nation  upon  one  of  his  old  friends 
for  resorting  to  tyranny  in  order  to  extort  graft  from 
his  victims.  Yuan  Shih  Kai  further  simplified  and 
centralized  the  government  by  making  the  governors 
directly  responsible  to  the  president,  the  taotais  re- 
sponsible to  the  governor  and  the  magistrates  or 
Hsien  officials  responsible  to  the  taotais.  The  govern- 
ment also  entered  upon  a policy  outlined  June  3,  1914, 
for  securing  an  efficient  army  for  the  maintenance  of 
peace  and  order,  for  the  development  of  the  resources 


376  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

and  the  reduction  of  expenses  of  the  government,  for 
the  maintenance  of  moral  standards  in  education,  for 
the  advance  of  general  education,  for  peaceful 
methods  of  diplomacy,  but  not  for  the  impairment  of 
sovereign  rights  of  China.  In  a word,  one  sees  in 
the  council  of  sixty-five  a partial  and  temporary  sub- 
stitution of  commission  government  for  parliament- 
ary government.  The  tendency  of  Western  govern- 
ment is  toward  the  substitution  of  small  commissions 
for  large  elective  boards  of  aldermen  and  councilmen. 
Our  national  government  has  resorted  to  commissions 
for  the  control  of  its  railways  and  banking  interests, 
the  public  lands  and  public  water  powers,  and  for  the 
control,  in  some  measure,  of  the  struggle  of  capital 
and  labor.  It  is  not  discouraging,  therefore,  that 
China,  on  finding  parliamentary  government  imprac- 
ticable for  the  present,  has  attempted  to  establish  a 
commission  form  of  government.  Again,  along  with 
the  establishment  of  the  commission  government  and 
the  strengthening  of  the  central  authority,  the  prov- 
inces have  remitted  the  taxes  to  Peking  to  such  an 
extent  that  in  1915  the  manager  of  the  Hong  Kong 
and  Shanghai  bank,  the  largest  bank  in  China,  de- 
clared the  national  finances  to  be  on  a satisfactory 
basis.  The  income  was  meeting  the  expenses  at  the 
time  when  Japan  presented  her  demands.  The  two 
discouraging  signs  are  the  danger  which  threatens 
China’s  sovereignty  and  the  reversion  to  a monarchy. 

There  need  be  no  misgivings  as  to  the  final  triumph 
of  representative  government  in  China.  The  whole 
movement  of  modern  history,  to  which  even  Germany 
and  Japan  are  not  exceptions,  is  from  the  despotic 


THE  CHINESE  REPUBLIC 


377 


toward  the  representative  form  of  government,  a 
movement  which  even  Napoleon  could  not  stop. 
Germany  and  Japan  have  adopted  parliamentary  gov- 
ernment in  form,  and  presently  they  will  fill  this  form 
with  substance.  William  T.  Stead,  in  his  volume  The 
Americanization  of  the  World,  calls  attention  to  the 
fact  that  every  British  colony  has  followed  the  United 
States  with  a written  constitution  rather  than  the 
mother  country  with  an  unwritten  one.  In  China  the 
young  men  of  modern  education  are  devoted  to  the 
republican  ideal;  and  as  the  young  men  think  to-day 
the  nation  will  move  to-morrow. 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  and  hopeful  facts  in  the 
political  situation  is  that  despite  centuries  upon  cen- 
turies of  training  in  reverence  for  authority,  young 
China  to-day  cherishes  these  ideals  of  republican  insti- 
tutions. It  would  be  an  irreparable  loss  to  China  if 
her  young  men  should  abandon  these  ideals,  or  should 
in  the  long  run  fail  to  carry  them  out. 

Baron  Bunsen  wrote  that  personality  with  its  con- 
viction of  the  worth  of  the  individual  scarcely  existed 
in  Rome  or  Greece  or  Judaea,  that  the  individual  was 
born  with  Christ  and  reborn  at  the  Reformation.  A 
new  China  is  impossible  without  renewed  Chinese.  The 
new  birth  is  the  key  to  the  Chinese  Republic.  The 
formula  of  progress  in  the  Western  world  has 
been:  Renaissance,  Reformation,  Revolution.  More 
broadly  and  sweeping  a wider  span  of  history,  it  has 
been:  The  New  Life  in  Christ,  the  Reformation,  Re- 
ligious Freedom,  Political  Progress.  Can  China 
reach  our  goal  without  following  the  path  we  have 
trod? 


378  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

Careful  observers  have  accepted  for  China  a 
journey  in  the  wilderness  before  she  enters  the  prom- 
ised land.  How  speedily  China  can  “turn  a corner  in 
human  history”  depends  partly  on  the  Western  world 
— more  upon  herself.  Alas!  Europe  is  lighting  the 
path  of  progress  for  China  by  the  ghastly  conflagra- 
tion of  her  own  half-pagan,  half-Christian  civiliza- 
tion. If  China  turns  to  the  United  States  for  guid- 
ance, we  are  struggling  over  the  race  problem,  capital 
and  labor,  worldliness  and  lust,  ourselves  doubtful 
whether  we  are  making  such  progress  in  self-control 
and  reverence  for  law  as  will  insure  the  permanence 
of  our  institutions.  Modesty  becomes  us  all.  But 
God’s  plans  are  very  broad.  The  awakening  of  the 
Chinese,  the  great  progress  of  America  in  recent 
years,  her  self-control  in  the  present  world  crisis,  and 
the  conviction  that  Europe,  after  all,  is  in  the  birth- 
pangs  of  a new  civilization,  make  us,  in  view  of  the 
whole  situation,  hopeful  for  the  future. 

Books  for  Reference 

Brown,  Arthur  J. : The  Chinese  Revolution.  Dingle, 
Edwin  J. : China  Revolutionized.  Kent,  P.  H.:  The  Passing  of 
the  Manchus.  Tanning,  George:  Old  Forces  in  New  China. 
For  additional  material  consult  current  publications  on  China, 
especially  The  China  Press,  The  North  China  Daily  News,  The 
Far  Eastern  Review. 


CHAPTER  XVI 


CHINA  AND  JAPAN 

We  wish  we  might  appeal  solely  to  considerations 
of  right  and  wrong  in  dealing  with  the  relations  of 
Japan  and  China.  But,  unfortunately,  so-called  Chris- 
tian and  non-Christian  nations  alike  are  seldom  gov- 
erned solely  by  righteousness.  “It  is  a condition  and 
not  a theory  which  confronts  us.”  Our  considera- 
tion of  the  Chino-Japanese  problem  must  deal  with 
the  conditions  as  they  are,  and  through  these  existing 
conditions  attempt  to  find  a solution  of  the  problem. 
A brief  historical  review  will  bring  the  problem  before 
us. 

B.  Putnam  Weale  writes  of  Japan’s  Twenty-one 
Demands  Upon  China:  “January  i8,  1915,  ranks  in 
Japanese  history  and  in  world  history  with  Japan’s 
invasion  of  Seoul  in  1894;  her  declaration  of  war  with 
Russia  in  1904;  her  annexation  of  Korea  in  1910. 
Japan’s  attitude  toward  China  has  not  changed  per- 
ceptibly since  her  statesmen,  a quarter  of  a century 
ago,  laid  it  down  as  a root  principle  that  Japan  must 
dominate  all  Asia  washed  by  the  Pacific.  . . . When 
China  suddenly  turned  her  back  on  the  East,  and  by 
her  revolution  of  19  ii  declared  to  the  world  that  she 
wished  to  enter  the  Western  family  of  nations  as  a 
republic,  a great  menace  to  Japan’s  plans  arose.  She 
fomented  the  rebellion  of  1913;  again  Yuan  Shih  Kai 
and  a Western  loan  beat  her.  Now  when  Europe  is  ab- 

379 


38o  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

sorbed  in  her  drama  and  the  United  States  is  isolated 
for  action  in  the  Far  East,  Japan  is  binding  China; 
and  America  leaves  her  with  the  threads  of  destiny 
being  twisted  around  her  to  wrestle  as  best  she  may, 
at  least  for  the  present.”  ^ This  statement,  like  that 
of  Dr,  Griffis,  which  will  be  quoted  a little  later,  falls 
into  the  error  of  all  sweeping  generalizations.  Japan 
a quarter  of  a century  ago  probably  had  no  such  defi- 
nite Machiavellian  plans.  Japanese  history,  like  the 
history  of  other  nations,  has  moved  more  or  less  un- 
consciously in  certain  directions;  and  only  after  the 
events  do  the  lines  become  clear.  But  the  value  of 
these  generalizations  consists  in  the  fact  that  they 
bring  out  into  the  open  light  the  half-conscious  and 
half-unconscious  aspirations  of  a nation.  To  accept 
literally  each  statement  of  Mr.  Weale  and  Dr.  Griffis 
is  to  charge  Japan  with  falsehood  in  dealing  with 
other  nations,  for  Japan  in  four  treaties  since  1900 
has  accepted  the  policy  of  the  open  door  and  the  integ- 
rity of  China. 

In  1894-95  Japan  precipitated  the  war  with  China 
over  the  suzerainty  of  Korea,  though  China’s  conduct 
had  been  exceedingly  provoking.  Japan  had  adopted 
Western  civilization  on  its  material  side,  and  with 
a modern  army  and  navy  she  soon  won  a brilliant 
victory.  As  a result  a treaty  was  signed  at  Shimon- 
oseki,  April  17,  1895,  declaring  the  absolute  independ- 
ence of  Korea,  ceding  to  Japan  Formosa,  the  Pesca- 
dores, the  Liaotung  peninsula  and  Port  Arthur,  and 
pledging  China  to  pay  an  indemnity  of  200,000,000 
taels.  But  Port  Arthur  is  the  Gibraltar  of  Asia — the 


Japan  Advertiser,  April  3,  1915. 


CHINA  AND  JAPAN  381 

first  great  deep-sea  harbor  on  the  Pacific  Coast  soiitli 
of  the  ice  line,  land-locked  and  protected  hy  rocky 
hills  rising  almost  from  the  water’s  edge.  Japan’s 
mastery  of  Port  Arthur  blocked  Russia’s  aim  for  an 
ice-free  port  on  the  Pacific  Coast.  Russia  induced 
Germany  and  France  to  unite  with  her  in  demanding 
that  Japan  exact  a much  larger  indemnity  from  China 
and  return  Port  Arthur  and  the  Liaotung  peninsula, 
on  the  ground  that  Japan’s  sovereignty  on  the  Man- 
churian coast  would  render  the  independence  of 
Korea  illusory,  would  menace  the  security  of  the 
Chinese  capital,  and  constitute  an  obstacle  to  the  peace 
of  the  Far  East.  Japan  bowed  to  superior  force,  but 
with  great  inward  bitterness  over  being  robbed  of  the 
just  fruits  of  her  victory.  In  1897,  in  punishment  for 
the  death  of  two  German  missionaries  who  had  been 
killed  in  a Chinese  riot,  Germany  demanded  200,000 
taels  for  the  murdered  men,  the  rebuilding  of  the 
church  destroyed  by  the  rioters,  reimbursement  of  all 
German  expenses  incurred,  dismissal  of  the  governor 
of  the  province,  the  severest  penalties  on  the  assassins 
and  local  officials,  the  cession  of  Kiaochow  as  a per- 
manent naval  base  for  Germany,  exclusive  coal-min- 
ing rights  in  Shantung,  and  railway  concessions  in 
the  province.  Captain  Brinkley  writes,  “Never  had 
the  most  rudimentary  principles  of  international 
morality  been  so  grossly  betrayed  in  the  Far  East.”  ^ 
On  March  3,  1898,  four  months  after  the  Kiaochow 
incident,  Russia  asked  China  for  a lease  of  Port 
Arthur  and  Talien  (Dalny),  in  the  Liaotung  penin- 

* Brinkley,  Captain  F. : Oriental  Series.  China  and  Japan,  vol.  xii:  China, 
Its  History,  Arts  and  Literature,  p.  190. 


382  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

sula,  and  gave  China  five  days  to  reply;  and  on  the 
25th  of  March  China  yielded.  A few  days  later  Great 
Britain  demanded  and  obtained  from  China  a lease  of 
Weihaiwci,  on  the  north  coast  of  Shantung;  and  also 
two  hundred  square  miles  of  the  hinterland  of  the 
Kowloon  promontory  north  of  Hongkong.  France 
secured  a part  of  the  mainland  opposite  the  island  of 
Hainan.^  The  only  result,  therefore,  of  Japan’s 
humiliation  was  the  increased  .aggression  of  other 
foreign  Powers,  and  the  lessened  chance  of  Japan  ever 
securing  the  fruits  of  a future  victory  over  China. 
The  iron  entered  Japan’s  soul,  and  immediately  she 
began  to  double  her  army  and  treble  her  navy.  In 
1904-05  came  Japan’s  war  with  Russia.  Before 
entering  upon  the  war  she  wrote  the  most  solemn 
declarations  to  Korea,  China,  and  the  world  proclaim- 
ing that  her  sole  purpose  was  to  drive  Russia  out  of 
China  where  she  was  a menace  to  both  China  and 
Japan,  and  that  she  would  not  annex  a foot  of  Korean 
or  Chinese  territory.  Japan’s  brilliant  victory  over 
Russia  startled  the  world.  She  defeated  a nation 
deemed  hitherto  well-nigh  invincible;  it  was  the  first 
great  triumph  of  the  yellow  race  over  the  white  race — 
a result  deemed  incredible  among  white  races. 
Japan’s  triumph  thrilled  the  Orient  into  new  life;  and 
its  efifects  will  be  felt  for  generations  throughout  the 
Far  East,  and  possibly  throughout  the  world.  Japan 
at  once  took  her  position  as  one  of  the  great  Powers 
of  the  earth. 

But  the  Japanese  were  disappointed  over  the  Treaty 

•Brinkley,  Captain  F. : Oriental  Series,  China  and  Japan,  vol.  xii:  China, 
Its  History,  Arts  and  Literature,  pp.  193-4. 


CHINA  AND  JAPAN  3?;3 

of  Portsmouth.  In  the  treaty  Japan  secured  the  exact 
results  wliich  she  had  announced  as  the  object  of  the 
war,  namely,  the  driving  of  Russia  from  Manchuria, 
where  her  presence  destroyed  the  balance  of  power 
in  the  Far  East.  By  the  Treaty  of  Portsmouth  Japan 
also  secured  Port  Arthur  and  the  southern  half  of 
Saghalien,  but  not  a dollar  to  repay  her  for  her  tre- 
mendous expenditures.  Japan  had  lost  one  hundred 
and  thirty  thousand  of  her  noblest  sons,  she  had  a 
far  larger  number  crippled  or  diseased  for  life;  and 
in  addition  to  such  current  expenses  as  she  had  raised 
by  heroic  sacrifices  she  found  herself  at  the  close  of 
the  war  with  a permanent  addition  to  her  debt  of 
$500,ooo,cxx).^  Such  sacrifices,  so  large  an  added 
indebtedness,  and  so  brilliant  a victory  seemed  to  the 
Japanese  to  demand  far  more  than  they  received;  and 
to  them  the  war  seemed  to  end  in  empty  glory.  The 
dissatisfaction  in  Japan  over  the  Treaty  of  Ports- 
mouth was  such  that  she  withdrew  her  troops  slowly 
and  reluctantly  from  Manchuria,  and  never  fully. 
Indeed,  she  continued  openly  and  fully  to  occupy 
Korea,  despite  the  fact  that  Japan  had  pledged  Korea 
and  the  world  that  she  would  respect  and  preserve 
Korea’s  sovereignty  as  a condition  of  peaceably  pass- 
ing through  her  borders. 

We  do  not  think  that  Japan  at  the  opening  of  the 
war  planned  to  seize  Korea.  For  the  first  few  months 
after  the  proclamation  of  her  purpose  in  attacking 
Russia,  she  was  so  fully  imbued  with  the  principles 
of  that  proclamation  that  she  herself  hesitated  to 
repudiate  them.  We  are  inclined  to  believe  that  at  the 


* The  Christian  Movement  in  the  Japanese  Empire,  1914,  p.  16. 


384  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

treaty  of  Portsmouth  responsible  Japanese  leaders 
agreed  with  Russia  that  Japan  was  to  continue  to  hold 
Korea  and  that  President  Roosevelt  acquiesced  in 
Japan’s  purpose. 

Meantime,  another  great  opportunity  began  to  loom 
in  sight.  Japanese  leaders  had  known  the  value  of 
Manchuria  for  many  years.  But  the  Japanese  people 
as  a whole  had  not  realized  either  their  own  power  to 
become  a dominant  factor  on  the  continent  of  Asia  or 
the  large  and  splendid  territory  across  the  straits 
which  invited  colonization  and  development.  The 
campaign  against  Russia  had  carried  hundreds  of 
thousands  of  Japanese  soldiers  across  the  plains  of 
Manchuria.  They  saw  stretching  out  before  them 
immense  fertile  plains,  surrounded  in  places  by  hills 
and  mountains;  and  they  became  aware  that  China 
was  impotent  to  protect  her  own.  Manchuria  em- 
braces a territory  of  three  hundred  and  sixty  thou- 
sand square  miles,  as  rich  in  natural  resources  as  Wis- 
consin and  Minnesota,  capable,  according  to  such 
competent  authorities  as  W.  D.  Straight  and  Alex- 
ander Hosie  and  Japanese  experts,  of  sustaining  an 
addition  to  her  population  of  from  sixty  to  eighty 
million  people.  The  temptation  which  beset  Japan 
reminds  one  of  Satan’s  temptation  of  the  Master 
when  he  showed  him  all  the  kingdoms  of  the  earth 
and  said,  “All  these  will  I give  thee  if  thou  wilt 
fall  down  and  worship  me.”  Great  Britain,  Germany, 
Russia,  France,  and  the  United  States,  during  their 
respective  histories,  all  have  fallen  before  a similar 
temptation  to  make  gains  in  territory.  Japan  saw 
not  simply  the  plains  of  Manchuria,  but  also,  in  view 


CHINA  AND  JAPAN  385 

of  the  weakness  of  China  and  her  own  undreamed  of 
military  prowess,  she  saw  the  Chinese  empire  stretch- 
ing" out  before  her.  Indeed,  she  dreamed  of  the  pos- 
sibility of  uniting  the  yellow  races  under  her  leader- 
ship and  through  them  gaining  the  leadership  of  the 
I^acific  Basin  and  of  the  world.  It  was  a very  sore 
temptation.  Down  to  1915  Japan  had  not  fallen  be- 
fore the  glittering  prize.  On  the  other  hand,  she  had 
not  turned  away  her  gaze  from  the  temptation  which 
enthralled  her. 

As  the  story  of  Japan’s  recent  conflict  with  China  is 
not  yet  in  official  print,  and  as  the  record  of  some 
well-known  acts  is  challenged,  we  avail  ourselves  of 
an  account  of  Japan’s  plans  and  acts  with  reference 
to  China  by  the  Rev.  William  Elliot  Griffis,  D.D.,“ 
an  earnest  friend  of  Japan.  As  Baron  Komura,  the 
hero  of  the  story,  is  a former  pupil  of  Dr.  Griffis,  as 
Dr.  Griffis  speaks  of  plans  in  Baron  Komura’s  mind 
which  he  could  know  only  through  the  Baron’s  con- 
fessions to  himself,  it  is  evident  that  the  scholar  has 
taken  his  old  teacher  into  his  confidence  and  unfolded 
to  him  some  of  his  plans  for  turning  the  barren  vic- 
tory of  Japan  over  Russia  into  a brilliant  triumph 
over  China.  While  condensing  Dr.  Griffis’s  account, 
we  give  the  story  as  fully  as  possible  in  his  own  words : 
“After  serving  as  civil  administrator  of  Antung, 
Komura  was  sent  to  Seoul  ‘to  save  face’  for  Japan 
when  the  queen  of  Korea  had  been  assassinated  by 
some  Japanese  ruffians.”  Komura  was  later  called 
to  the  Katsura  Cabinet  as  foreign  minister  “where  it 
was  part  of  his  work  to  secure  the  alliance  of  Japan 


^New  York  Sun.  May  30,  1915. 


386  CHINA;  AN  INTERPRETATION 


with  England  and  to  conduct  those  prolonged  nego- 
tiations of  which  the  war  with  Russia  was  the  sequel.” 
After  the  defeat  of  Russia  “Komura  was  selected  by 
the  emperor  to  be  the  bearer  of  the  olive  branch  at 
Portsmouth.  . . . Marquis  Ito  had  forewarned  him 
to  expect  on  his  return  home  a storm  of  unpopularity 
and  possibly  danger  to  his  life.  . . . With  his 

plans  thoroughly  wrought  out,  Komura  purposed 
more  than  the  settlement  of  the  war.  He  schemed  to 
gain  a victory  more  decisive  than  either  Togo  with 
his  battleships  or  Oyama  with  his  half  million  war- 
riors had  won.  On  the  Asian  continent  he  would 
create  a greater  Japan.  . . . Manchuria  and  the 

road  to  Europe  must  be  won.  In  the  Portsmouth 
deliberations,  August  lo  to  September  5,  1905,  Russia 
agreed  to  share  with  Japan  all  her  special  rights  in 
the  Chinese  empire  and,  accordingly,  turned  over  to 
her  the  texts  of  all  her  previous  treaties  with  China. 
. . . Until  1907  this  secret  arrangement  between 

Russia  and  Japan  was  unknown  at  Washington.” 
Dr.  Griffis  does  not  tell  fully  what  the  secret  arrange- 
ment entered  into  by  Japan  and  Russia  was.  Fred- 
erick K.  McCormick®  shows  that  the  secret  clause,  by 
which  Japan  was  to  assume  control  over  the  Manchur- 
ian Railway,  and  thus  over  the  single  line  of  trans- 
portation running  from  Asia  to  Europe,  was  Article 
6 of  an  agreement  made  by  China  with  Russia  as  to 
the  east  and  west  line — that  portion  of  the  railway 
which  Russia  retained.  This  Article  6 gave  Russia 
“sole  and  exclusive  right  of  administration  in  the 
railway  zone,”  that  is,  a territory  about  one  mile 


® The  Flowery  Republic,  p.  306. 


CHINA  AND  JAPAN  387 

wide  on  each  side  of  the  railway.  We  should  think 
it  would  be  difficult  for  a Christian  statesman  to  over- 
look two  difficulties  in  Baron  Komura’s  program. 
First:  China  made  the  concession  mentioned  above 
only  for  the  east  and  west  extension  of  the  railway, 
that  is,  for  that  end  of  the  line  which  was  nearest  to 
Russia  and  furthest  from  Peking,  and,  therefore,  run- 
ning through  a portion  of  the  country  whose  control 
was  not  so  vital  to  China’s  interest  as  was  the  north 
and  south  Manchurian  line.  China  never  made  this 
concession  in  regard  to  the  administration  for  the 
latter  line,  hence  the  famous  “plan  of  state”  by  which 
Baron  Komura  proposed  that  Japan  should  gain  a 
foothold  in  IManchuria  consisted  in  Japan  claiming 
and  exercising  in  southern  Manchuria  an  authority 
which  China  never  granted  either  to  Russia  or  Japan. 
Second:  The  whole  cause  of  Japan’s  war  with  Russia, 
as  proclaimed  to  the  world  by  Japan,  was  Russia’s 
unjust  claim  of  authority  in  southern  Manchuria. 
Japan  professed  to  the  world  to  fight  the  war  in  the 
interest  of  China,  of  Korea,  and  of  all  other  nations 
who  had  treat}^  relations  with  China,  as  well  as  for  the 
preservation  of  her  own  rights.  It  was  because  Japan 
professed  to  be  fighting  for  the  interests  of  all  nations 
that  she  had  the  sympathy  of  the  world  in  her 
war  with  Russia.  Hence  for  Japan  to  take  over 
from  Russia  these  unjust  claims  of  authority  which 
trenched  upon  the  sovereignty  of  China — claims 
which  Japan  maintained  Russia  had  not  the  slightest 
right  to  exercise,  claims  which  endangered  the  peace 
of  the  Far  East — and  proceed  to  exercise  the  very 
injustice  which  she  began  the  war  to  overthrow,  and 


388  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

even  extend  this  theft  of  sovereignty  from  the  east 
and  west  line  to  the  north  and  south  line,  is  very 
embarrassing  to  every  fair-minded  defender  of  Japan. 
Even  some  of  the  Japanese  writers  admit  the  embar- 
rassment. Dr.  Griffis  apparently  feels  it  in  some  mea- 
sure, for  he  adds:  “Nevertheless,  this  diplomatic  tri- 
umph placed  the  Island  Empire  in  a precarious  situa- 
tion. While  posing  as  the  champion  of  the  open  door 
and  of  China’s  territorial  integrity,  . . . Japan  was 
expected  to  act  with  rectitude  and  to  be  equally  gen- 
erous to  all.  That  neither  she  nor  China  has  been 
able  to  do  so  has  given  cause  for  vast  areas  of  copy.” 
We  may  add  that  the  only  reason  why  China  has  not 
been  able  to  give  equal  rights  in  Manchurian  trade  to 
all  is  this  interference  on  the  part  of  Japan.  Dr. 
Griffis  continues,  “Right  or  wrong  Japan  in  China 
stood  as  the  equal  of  semi-Oriental  Russia  and,  in  so 
far,  as  the  superior  of  Occidental  nations.”  It  was 
for  the  express  purpose  of  destroying  Russia’s  as- 
sumption of  superior  privileges  in  China  that  Japan 
proclaimed  the  war,  but,  according  to  Dr.  Griffis,  the 
war  transferred  to  Japan  that  unjust  privilege  which 
threatened  the  peace  of  the  world  and  which  Japan 
began  the  war  to  destroy.  That  there  may  be  no 
doubt  of  Japan’s  purpose  in  the  war  in  taking  Korea 
and  subordinating  China  to  herself  we  quote  Dr. 
Griffis’  statement  of  it:  “What  was  wanted  was  that 
which  would  guarantee  Japan’s  future — a foothold 
on  the  Continent,  control  of  the  high  seas  to  Europe, 
preponderance  in  the  development  of  Manchuria,  the 
subordinating  of  China,  and  the  friendship  of  Russia. 
. . . All  these  points — the  ends  for  which  the  war 


CHINA  AND  JAPAN  389 

had  been  foiiglit — had  been  settled  in  Komura’s  mind 
before  leaving  Japan,  and  were  won  at  Portsmouth. 
. . . Komura’s  next  mission  to  Peking  was  wholly 
successful.  China  seemed  grateful  because  the  Rus- 
sian incubus  seemed  lightened  by  its  being  shared, 
instead  of  being,  as  it  really  was,  doubled.  A few 
months  later,  when  the  reality  was  suspected,  Chinese 
popular  feeling  suffered  a revulsion.  A campaign  for 
the  recovery  of  rights  began  in  China  which  has  per- 
sisted and  will  not  down.”  But  Dr.  Griffis  is  hurt  that 
China  does  not  welcome  the  overlordship  of  Japan  as 
a plan  ordained  of  God  for  her  relief. 

In  the  above  quotations  Dr.  Griffis  speaks  as  Baron 
Komura’s  old  teacher,  and  doubtless  reports  correctly 
Komura’s  interpretation  of  the  events  for  the  last  ten 
years.  Nevertheless,  the  account  impresses  us  as  too 
consistent  and  a priori  on  Baron  Komura’s  part  to 
be  wholly  accurate.  It  gives  too  much  credit  to  Ja- 
pan’s brain  and  too  little  to  her  conscience.  Our  own 
conversations  with  Japanese  statesmen  lead  to  a 
higher  view  of  Japanese  morality  than  is  taken  in  Dr. 
Griffis’s  article.  It  is  indisputable  that  there  were  and 
are  yet  two  parties  in  Japan — one  the  IMilitary  Party 
and  the  other  the  Economico-Ethical  Party — and 
these  two  parties  are  }^et  somewhat  sharply  divided. 
Komura  represents  the  Military  Party.  Prince  Ito, 
during  the  first  months  following  the  Portsmouth 
treaty,  and  Okuma  down  to  the  winter  of  1914-1915, 
represented  the  Economico-Ethical  Party.  Frederick 
McCormick  informs  us  that  when  the  treaty  of  Ports- 
mouth was  signed,  September,  1905,  it  became  the 
immediate  business  of  the  two  contestants,  Russia  and 


390  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

Japan,  to  separate  from  each  other  so  far  as  practic- 
able. The  Manchurian  Railway  had  been  divided  be- 
tween them,  Japan  securing  the  Southern  Manchuria, 
or  the  north  and  south  division,  Russia  securing  the 
east  and  west  division.  Prince  Ito  immediately  made 
with  E.  H.  Harriman,  an  American  railway  financier, 
a tentative  agreement  which  would  turn  the  southern 
Manchurian  railway  into  an  American  railway  to 
serve  as  a buffer  between  Russia  and  Japan.’^  Russia 
seemed  quite  as  eager  as  Japan  to  separate  from  her 
former  foe  and  offered  her  division  for  sale  on  Wall 
Street,  New  York.  She  did  not  abandon  her  plan  to 
sell  the  railway  until  1908,  after  an  open  and  decisive 
failure  to  dispose  of  it  in  America — a failure  wdiich 
brought  considerable  humiliation  to  herself.  On 
Komura’s  arrival  in  Japan  after  the  Treaty  of  Ports- 
mouth he  was  condemned  even  more  bitterly  than  Ito 
had  warned  him  to  expect.  In  the  attempt  to  extricate 
Japan  from  her  humiliation  he  proposed  that  the  con- 
cession of  the  sole  jurisdiction  for  two  or  three  li  along 
each  side  of  the  railway,  which  Russia  had  secured 
for  the  east  and  west  division  of  the  Manchurian  line, 
should  be  boldly  taken  by  Japan  along  the  north  and 
south  division.®  Japan  proposed  to  Russia  thus  to 
seize  a portion  of  the  sovereignty  of  Manchuria — 
Russia  to  emphasize  her  sovereignty  in  the  railway 
zone  in  upper  Manchuria,  and  Japan  to  seize  a similar 
zone  in  lower  Manchuria,  and  emphasize  her  sover- 
eignty in  that.  It  took  four  years  and  a visit  of  Baron 
Goto  to  Russia,  and  finally  of  Prince  Ito  himself,  to 


’ McCormick,  Frederick:  The  Flowery  Republic,  p.  305. 
* Ibid.,  p.  306. 


CHINA  AND  JAPAN  391 

persuade  Russia  to  enter  into  this  agreement  with 
Japan.  In  the  meantime  the  agreement  was  not  en- 
tered into  until  Japan  finally  pushed  her  communica- 
tions to  the  Amur  River,  thus  awakening  Russia’s 
fear  of  her  influence  in  northern  Manchuria,  when 
Russia  finally  signed  the  agreement,  July  4,  1910.  It 
w'as  a tragedy  that  Prince  Ito,  who  opposed  all  move- 
ments toward  aggression  on  Japan’s  part  until  she 
could  recover  financially  from  her  war  with  Russia, 
and  who  declared  to  the  last  that  Japan  would  never 
annex  Korea,  lost  his  life  while  on  a mission  for  the 
Military  Party  against  his  own  earlier  convictions  but 
at  the  request  of  the  emperor.  It  was  through  the 
influence  of  men  of  the  reputation  of  Prince  Ito,  and 
through  Russia’s  feeling  of  isolation  at  the  opposi- 
tion of  the  United  States,  Germany,  France,  and 
Great  Britain  over  what  seemed  to  them  to  be  plans 
for  alienating  the  sovereignty  of  China  in  Manchuria, 
that  Russia  is  said  to  have  signed  the  agreement.® 
With  a fine  contempt  for  morality  the  Military  Party 
in  Japan  led  the  nation  to  set  up  in  a Japanese-Rus- 
sian  compact  the  very  agreement  impairing  the  sover- 
eignty of  China  which  Japan  in  the  name  of  humanity 
had  gone  to  war  with  Russia  to  demolish. 

The  European  war  made  possible  Japanese  aggres- 
sion on  China.  The  War  Party  in  Japan  assured 
their  compatriots  that  all  Europe  was  engrossed  in  a 
life-and-death  struggle;  and  no  European  nation 
would  or  could  interfere  with  Japan’s  realization  of 
her  ambitions;  that  the  United  States  was  isolated, 
and  the  protection  of  China  would  not  furnish  her  a 


• Ibid.,  p.  309. 


392  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

sufficient  motive  for  going  to  war  with  Japan;  that 
the  United  States  could  not  transport  troops  five  thou- 
sand miles  and  conquer  Japan;  that  her  failure  might 
cost  her  the  Philippines,  and  in  any  case  would  add 
immensely  to  her  own  humiliation  and  to  the  prestige 
of  Japan.  Hence  the  War  Party  maintained  that  the 
United  States  would  do  nothing  more  than  protest, 
and  Japan  would  be  left  free  to  deal  with  China  as  she 
might  wish.  Japan  had  won  her  first  and  only  real 
recognition  from  the  Western  world  by  her  defeat  of 
Russia;  hence,  the  War  Party  argued,  she  would  win 
further  recognition  by  the  Western  world  only 
through  the  further  display  of  military  power.  China 
had  not  yet  become  a military  power.  She  was  weak- 
ened by  the  revolution,  by  the  rebellion  of  Sun  Yat 
Sen  and  that  of  White  Wolf.  She  had  employed  •Ger- 
man officers  to  train  her  army,  and  they  had  intro- 
duced German  guns  and  induced  China  to  buy  Ger- 
man ammunition,  which  ceased  to  be  shipped  to  China 
some  three  months  before  the  outbreak  of  the  Euro- 
pean struggle ; and  the  Chinese  government  had  used 
up  her  supplies  in  the  suppression  of  the  White  Wolf 
uprising  and  had  not  yet  completed  an  arsenal  for  the 
manufacture  of  her  own  ammunition.  In  a word,  it 
was  now  possible,  so  the  War  Party  argued,  for  Japan 
to  take  possession  of  Manchuria,  to  dominate  the 
whole  of  China,  and  in  case  of  violent  opposition  to 
overthrow  the  Chinese  government;  and  in  any  case 
thoroughly  intrench  herself  as  a great  continental 
Power  in  Asia.  Nev’^er  did  military  glory  and  world- 
liness appeal  more  powerfully  to  a nation. 

At  the  outbreak  of  the  European  struggle  and 


CHINA  AND  JAPAN  393 

Japan’s  attack  upon  the  German  possessions  in  China, 
Count  Okuma  appealed  to  Parliament  for  the  increase 
in  the  army  and  navy  which  the  people  had  refused  to 
"rant  to  the  three  Cabinets  which  had  preceded  him. 
Members  of  Parliament  were  afraid  to  vote  the  in- 
crease without  an  appeal  to  their  constituents,  and 
Okuma  dissolved  Parliament  and  made  the  appeal. 
The  War  Party  made  a sharp  attack  upon  him  on 
the  ground  that  he  had  always  been  a man  of  peace, 
that  he  was  president  of  the  Peace  Society  of  Japan, 
and  that  at  seventy-eight  years  of  age  and  with  his 
peace  record,  he  was  not  the  man  to  be  at  the  head  of 
Japan  for  such  a time  as  this ; they  assured  the  people, 
groaning  under  their  taxes,  that  the  conquest  of  China 
would  bring  financial  relief.  It  looked  as  if  the  War 
Party  would  sweep  the  nation.  Count  Okuma,  pos- 
sibly to  prevent  defeat  in  the  impending  election, 
formulated  and  presented  January  18,  1915,  Twenty- 
one  Demands  upon  China.  An  examination  of 
these  Demands  shows  their  cruel  injustice  to  the 
Chinese,  and  the  attempt  of  the  Japanese  government 
to  keep  them  secret  and  to  compel  China  by  threats 
and  by  doubling  the  Japanese  troops  in  China  to  sign 
them  speedily,  reveals  Japan’s  own  recognition  of  the 
injustice  of  her  Demands.  Any  one  who  reads  care- 
fully Appendices  VIII  and  IX  will  see  the  necessity 
for  the  strong  statements  which  follow  as  to  the 
danger  of  the  War  Party’s  attempt  to  seize  for  Japan 
the  suzerainty  of  China.  Evidently,  the  sense  of  the 
injustice  of  the  Demands,  the  stubborn  refusal  of 
Yuan  Shih  Kai  to  concede  Group  V which  most  fully 


“ See  Appendices  VIII  to  XII. 


394  CHINA;  AN  INTERPRETATION 

trenched  upon  the  sovereignty  of  the  nation,  and  the 
urgent  advice  of  the  United  States  and  great  Britain 
led  the  Japanese  government  to  postpone  the  most 
obnoxious  of  these  Demands.  China  and  also  the 
Economico- Ethical  Party  in  Japan  owe  a lasting  debt 
of  gratitude  to  President  Wilson  and  Secretary  Bryan 
and  Great  Britain  for  leading  Japan  to  this  deci- 
sion. The  one  hundred  and  thirty  votes  in  the 
Japanese  Parliament  in  favor  of  impeaching  Count 
Okuma  for  making  such  demands  upon  China  shows 
the  moral  resentment  of  Japanese  leaders  over  these 
reckless  Demands.  The  Japanese  Government  as- 
sured the  American  government  that  Japan  had 
dropped  Group  V.  Unfortunately,  the  Revised  De- 
mands (Appendix  IX)  show  that  the  Group  is  only 
postponed.  This  fact,  coupled  with  a request  by  a 
Japanese  representative,  on  the  heels  of  the  an- 
nounced postponement,  that  Yuan  Shih  Kai  would 
restore  the  monarchy,  was  one  of  the  causes  leading  to 
Yuan  Shih  Kai’s  unfortunate  decision  in  favor  of 
a monarchy. 

Located  as  the  two  nations  are,  Japan  must  adopt 
one  of  two  policies:  Japan  must  either  conquer  and 
govern  the  Chinese,  or  else  she  must  treat  China  as 
one  neighbor  should  treat  another  and  thus  win  her 
friendship,  her  trade,  and  in  time  of  need  her  support. 
She  cannot  possibly  combine  the  two.  As  the  two 
nations  must  always  remain  neighbors,  and  especially 
as  Japan  is  the  smaller  nation,  and  for  most  of  the 
last  three  thousand  years  has  been  the  weaker  nation, 
the  only  wise  course  is  neighborly  conduct.  This  view 
rests  upon  the  following  considerations: 


CHINA  AND  JAPAN  395 

I.  Japan's  Overlordsiiip  of  China  Is  Not  Neces- 
sary TO  Her  Own  Growth 

1.  The  late  Professor  F.  H.  King,  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Wisconsin,  may  have  fallen  into  some 
errors  through  the  haste  of  his  trip  in  the  Far  East. 
But  Professor  King  was  an  authority  upon  agricul- 
ture. He  carefully  examined  the  resources  of  Japan 
and  received  the  thorough  reports  of  the  Japanese 
government  in  regard  to  them  and  he  thus  wrote  of 
Japan’s  possibilities:  “If  all  lands  having  a slope  of 
less  than  fifteen  degrees  may  be  tilled,  there  yet  re- 
mains in  the  four  main  islands  of  Japan  as  much  as 
sixty-five  per  cent  of  uncultivated  land  which  may 
yet  be  brought  under  cultivation.  If  the  new  lands  to 
be  reclaimed  can  be  made  as  productive  as  those  in 
use,  there  should  be  an  opportunity  for  an  increase  in 
population  to  the  extent  of  about  35,000,000  people. 
While  the  lands  remaining  to  be  reclaimed  are  not 
as  inherently  productive  as  those  now  in  use,  improve- 
ments in  management  will  more  than  compensate  for 
this  difference;  and  the  empire  is  quite  certain  to 
double  its  present  maintenance  capacity  and  provide 
for  at  least  100,000,000  people  in  the  four  islands  with 
many  more  comforts  than  they  now  enjoy.”  This 
would  enable  the  Japanese  to  provide  for  their  growth 
at  their  present  rate  of  expansion  for  half  a century 
without  making  the  population  any  more  predomi- 
nantly an  industrial  population  than  it  is  to-day. 

2.  In  addition  to  this  opportunity  for  a large  ex- 
pansion of  population  within  her  four  main  islands. 


**  Farmers  of  Forty  Centuries,  p.  425. 


396  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

Japan  already  holds  Formosa,  Korea,  and  Lower 
Saghalien.  These  three  territories  offer  opportunities 
for  an  expansion  of  population  of  20,000,000  to  25,- 
000,000  beyond  the  35,000,000  increase  which  Pro- 
fessor King  estimates.  Thus  Japan  by  agriculture 
alone  can  more  than  double  her  present  population  on 
the  land  which  she  now  rules. 

3.  If  Japan  does  not  cripple  her  resources  and  divert 
the  energies  of  her  men  in  war,  she  has  a prospect  of 
becoming  the  industrial  and  commercial  leader  of  the 
Far  East  for  the  next  fifty  years,  as  Great  Britain 
has  been  the  industrial  commercial  leader  of  the  At- 
lantic Basin. 

4.  The  Japanese  have  unlimited  opportunities  of 
migrating  to  the  mainland  and  helping  shape  the 
civilization  of  the  Continent,  as  Germanic,  English 
and  Irish  people  have  migrated  to  the  mainland  of 
the  Western  continent  and  jointly  have  helped  shape 
the  political  life  and  civilization  of  the  United 
States. 

5.  The  Malay  Archipelago,  or  Malaysia,  is  ca- 
pable of  sustaining  an  increase  of  population  of  some 
four  hundred  million  people,  and  the  Japanese  can 
as  readily  overflow  their  borders,  fill  up  and  colo- 
nize certain  islands  of  Malaysia  as  the  Chinese  are 
doing.  Hence,  no  problem  of  life  and  death  is  con- 
fronting Japan  through  her  failure  to  gain  an  imme- 
diate foothold  on  the  mainland  of  Asia.  Indeed,  the 
problem  of  life  and  death  will  become  imminent  only 
when  Japan  decides  upon  the  policy  of  expansion  by 
the  defeat  of  China  and  the  capture  of  a portion  of  her 
territory. 


CHINA  AND  JAPAN 


397 


II.  Japan  Is  in  No  Condition  for  the  Heavy  Mili- 
tary Expenditure  which  Her  Exercise  of 
Overlordship  in  China  Would  Demand 

I.  Japan  has  now  annexed  Formosa,  Lower  Sag- 
halien,  and  Korea,  embracing  more  than  15,000,000 
subjects  in  all.  W'ere  she  to  annex  the  lower  part  of 
Manchuria,  she  would  add  some  12,000,000  to  15,- 
000,000  Chinese  subjects  to  those  she  now  rules.  This 
would  make  it  necessary  for  some  50,000,000  Jap- 
anese to  exercise  constant  control  over  some  30,- 
000,000  subjects  of  alien  races  and  of  different  lan- 
guages, filled  with  the  hatred  which  the  conquered 
always  feel  toward  their  conquerors.  It  is  well  known 
that  the  Japanese  have  been  in  a state  of  friction 
and  warfare  with  the  Chinese  in  Formosa  since 
1895;  and  this  warfare  is  by  no  means  at  an  end. 
Nominally,  the  Japanese  army  is  in  Formosa  for  the 
protection  of  the  people  from  the  head-hunters  of  the 
mountains,  but  in  reality  the  Japanese  conquerors 
cannot  trust  their  few  colonists  with  Japanese  institu- 
tions and  civilization  to  the  Chinese  of  the  valleys. 
Despite  some  conspicuous  external  service  to  Korea, 
all  who  have  been  living  in  that  country  or  have  come 
in  close  contact  with  the  Koreans,  know  something 
of  the  bitterness  of  heart  with  which  they  are  realiz- 
ing their  loss  of  nationality  and  are  submitting  to  the 
control  of  a foreign  nation.  The  Japanese  them- 
selves maintain  that  the  Koreans  are  disloyal  and 
have  been  frequently  plotting  the  death  of  their  rulers. 
It  may  be  questioned  whether  the  very  thoroughness 
of  the  Japanese,  along  with  the  pride  which  almost 


398  CHINA;  AN  INTERPRETATION 

invariably  attends  noted  conquests,  does  not  unfit 
them  to  become  the  successful  assimilators  of  an  alien 
race.  It  seems  impossible  for  fifty  million  Japanese 
to  transform  into  their  own  nationality  and  imbue 
with  their  own  ideals  15,000,000  people  held  in  sub- 
jection in  Korea,  Saghalien,  and  Formosa,  and  then 
subdue  and  speedily  assimilate  15,000,000  Chinese  in 
southern  Manchuria.  So  that  with  the  most  favor- 
able outcome  of  annexation,  with  the  speedy  and  com- 
plete conquest  of  the  Manchurians,  and  with  the 
speedy  and  complete  cessation  of  all  external  warfare 
upon  the  part  of  the  three  hundred  and  thirty  million 
Chinese  over  the  loss  of  their  fertile  provinces,  the 
Japanese  would  be  forced  to  an  immediate  and  per- 
manent increase  of  both  army  and  navy  in  order  to 
protect  herself  from  internal  and  external  dangers. 
This  is  not  a matter  of  speculation.  The  most  careful 
military  advisers  of  Japan,  indeed  all  the  leaders  of 
the  army  and  navy,  have  been  agreed  during  the  last 
four  or  five  years  that  the  safety  of  Japan,  even  with- 
out the  annexation  of  Manchuria,  depends  upon  the 
increase  by  two  divisions  of  the  army  and  the  building 
of  additions  to  the  navy;  and  the  increase  is  now  in 
rapid  process  of  accomplishment.  It  was  this  recog- 
nized, indisputable  problem  in  Japanese  politics, 
namely,  the  determination  upon  the  part  of  the  mili- 
tary and  naval  party  for  an  increase  of  military  ex- 
penditures upon  the  one  side,  and  the  conviction  of 
the  people  upon  the  other  side  that  they  would  be 
driven  to  bankruptcy  by  the  increase  in  expenditures, 
which  brought  about  the  downfall  of  ministry  after 
ministry,  and  at  last  restored  Count  Okuma  to  office 


CHINA  AND  JAPAN  3(>j 

after  his  enforced  retirement  by  the  Japanese  bureau- 
cracy for  eighteen  years. 

2.  Professor  King‘d  tells  us  that  Japan  has  15,- 
201,960  acres  of  land  under  cultivation,  with  an  aver- 
age of  two  and  six  tenths  acres  of  land  for  each  of 
the  5,246,911  households.  Dividing  the  taxes  by  the 
households  gives  us  $28.17,  gold,  as  an  average 
annual  tax  for  each  household  in  the  nation.  Or, 
dividing  the  taxes  by  the  acres  of  cultivated  land  gives 
us  an  annual  tax  of  $10.83,  gold,  as  the  average  tax 
now  paid  for  every  acre  of  land  cultivated  in  the 
nation.  The  Japan  Year  Book  for  1914  gives  the 
population  of  Japan  in  the  1910  census,  exclusive  of 
Korea,  Formosa,  and  Saghalien,  at  50,984,844,  and 
the  Japanese  expenditures  at  $258,422,714.  This 
makes  an  annual  tax  levy  of  $5.06,  gold,  for  each 
man,  woman,  and  child  in  Japan  to  meet  the  national 
expenses,  not  mentioning  the  taxes  for  municipal  and 
local  expenses.  Should  the  family  average  five  and  a 
half,  as  is  the  case  in  China,  the  figures  derived  from 
this  source  would  be  $27.83,  gold,  for  each  family  as 
compared  with  $28.17,  gold,  per  household  by  the 
other  method  of  calculation.  The  national  debt  of 
Japan  is  placed  by  the  Christian  Movement  in  the 
Japanese  Empire,  1914,  at  $1,282,211,158.  Taking 
Japan’s  debt  and  the  highest  estimate  we  have  ever 
found  of  Japan’s  wealth,^®  and  comparing  that  ratio 
of  debt  to  wealth  in  the  United  States  make  the  na- 
tional debt  of  Japan  weigh  upon  her  people  sixteen 
times  as  heavily  in  proportion  to  her  wealth  as  the 


“ King,  F.  H.:  Farmers  of  Forty  Centuries,  p.  425. 

“ Captain  Brinckley,  in  Encyclopcedia  Britannica,  vol.  xv,  p.  2 19. 


400  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


national  debt  weighs  upon  the  people  of  the  United 
States.  Professor  Kambe,  of  Kyoto  Imperial  Uni- 
versity/^ makes  the  national  debt  of  Japan  twenty- 
two  times  as  large  in  proportion  to  her  wealth  as  the 
national  debt  of  the  United  States.  While  Professor 
Kambe’s  figures  are  less  favorable  to  Japan  than  our 
own,  either  statement  shows  the  tremendous  weight 
of  Japan’s  debt  in  proportion  to  her  wealth  as  com- 
pared with  the  United  States.  Let  the  pressure  of 
our  national  taxes  be  increased  twenty-twofold,  or 
even  sixteenfold,  and  we  should  have  a revolution  in 
our  country.  The  tax,  for  instance,  on  an  income  of 
$2,500  a year  in  Japan  amounts  to  twenty  per  cent 
and  takes  $500  of  the  man’s  salary  for  its  discharge. 
With  such  an  enormous  tax  rate  pressing  upon  the 
Japanese,  the  prospect  of  an  increase  of  this  rate 
which  is  absolutely  necessary  for  the  conquest  and 
the  maintenance  of  control  over  Manchuria,  and  not 
only  of  a temporary  increase  but  of  a permanent 
increase,  involves  the  gravest  peril  to  the  economic 
and  political  life  of  the  Japanese.  Japan  is  in  no  con- 
dition to  stand  a large  and  permanent  increase  of  mili- 
tary expenditures. 

III.  The  Military  Career  Demanded  by  Japan’s 

OVERLORDSHIP  OF  ChINA  MeANS  IN  THE  EnD 

THE  Downfall  of  Japanese  Civilization 

I.  Japan  either  can  enter  upon  a course  of  indus- 
trial and  commercial  expansion  or  she  can  decide 
to  be  a military  nation.  She  cannot  travel  toward 
both  goals  at  the  same  time,  for  these  two  goals  lie 


“See  Japanese  Journal  of  Economy  for  1910. 


401 


CHINA  AND  JAPAN 

in  opposite  directions.  For  industrial  and  commer- 
cial expansion  her  young'  men  should  remain  at  home, 
in  the  schools,  on  the  farms,  in  the  factories,  in  busi- 
ness: the  formative  period  of  their  lives  should  be 
spent  not  in  military  drill,  and  especially  not  in  cam- 
paigns which  keep  them  away  from  their  families  and 
industries  and  decimate  their  numbers,  but  should  be 
spent  in  acquiring  the  skill  and  experience  for  success- 
ful business  careers.  One  of  the  greatest  economists 
in  England  some  forty  years  ago  noted  the  percent- 
age of  young  men  in  the  armies  of  Europe  in  pro- 
portion to  the  percentage  in  schools,  and  compared 
this  condition  in  Europe  with  the  proportion  of  young 
men  in  schools  to  those  in  the  army  in  the  United 
States,  and  maintained  that  Europe  was  giving  the 
United  States  the  economic  advantage,  and  that 
within  half  a century  the  United  States  would  have 
the  economic  leadership  of  the  world.  This  prophecy 
has  come  true ; and  wdth  the  rapid  growth  of  popula- 
tion in  the  United  States,  with  the  immense  capital 
ready  to  be  invested  in  industrial  enterprises,  with  the 
remarkable  inventive  genius  of  Americans,  with  the 
cutting  of  the  Panama  Canal,  and  with  Japan  en- 
grossed in  military  affairs  and  Europe  exhausted  by 
the  same,  the  United  States  will  secure  the  industrial 
and  commercial  leadership  of  the  Pacific  during  the 
next  half  century.  On  the  other  hand,  if  Japan  can 
devote  her  energies  to  an  industrial  and  commercial 
career,  then  with  the  spread  of  general  education  in 
Japan,  with  the  remarkable  industry  of  her  people, 
with  the  ease  with  which  she  can  borrow  the  inven- 
tions of  her  neighbors,  and  with  five  thousand  miles’ 


402  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


advantage  in  nearness  of  market  to  the  Far  East  as 
compared  with  the  United  States,  and  with  similar 
advantages  over  Europe,  Japan  can  become  the  indus- 
trial and  commercial  leader  of  the  Far  East  for  the 
next  fifty  years.  Either  of  these  alternatives  is  be- 
fore her.  She  cannot  possibty  grasp  the  two  together. 

2.  In  determining  which  of  the  alternatives,  a mili- 
tary career  or  an  educational,  intellectual,  and  com- 
mercial career,  she  will  choose,  Japan  should  remem- 
ber the  axiom  which  Bacon  laid  down,  namely,  any 
nation  which  gives  herself  definitely  to  war  may  be- 
come for  the  time  being  a great  military  power,  but 
in  doing  so  destroys  the  foundations  of  permanent 
existence.  The  life  of  Alexander,  the  histories  of 
Rome  in  her  later  period,  of  Spain  in  her  period  of 
conquest,  and  of  France  under  Louis  XIV,  and 
Napoleon,  confirm  Bacon’s  maxim.  This  is  because 
the  permanent  maintenance  of  armies  not  only  drains 
the  financial  resources  of  a nation,  but  decimates  the 
nation’s  manhood.  We  do  well  to  remember  a greater 
than  Bacon  said,  “They  that  take  the  sword  shall 
perish  by  the  sword.” 

3.  War  has  ceased  to  be  profitable.  When  nations 
were  so  sunk  in  savagery  that  the  victors  extermi- 
nated the  conquered,  taking  possession  of  their  lands 
and  all  their  wealth,  or  sold  them  into  slavery,  taking 
not  only  their  goods  but  adding  to  this  the  money 
which  the  sale  of  captives  brought,  war  was  profitable. 
But,  as  Norman  Angell  has  well  shown,^'^  we  have 
reached  a time  when  civilization  forbids  a conquering 
nation  exterminating  or  enslaving  the  conquered.  If 


**  Europe’s  Optical  Illusion. 


CHINA  AND  JAPAN  403 

the  conqueror  nuist  sj^arc  the  lives  of  the  con([uerecl, 
then  he  must  maintain  himself  in  a military  position 
so  strong  that  he  cannot  possibly  be  surprised  and 
overcome  by  any  disloyalty  upon  the  part  of  his  sub- 
jects; or  he  must  treat  these  subjects  with  such  kind- 
ness as  to  win  their  loyalty  and  service.  Germany, 
despite  a somewhat  dictatorial  manner,  has  aimed  to 
treat  Alsace-Lorraine  and  Schleswig-Holstein  with 
essential  justice,  and  she  has  administered  their 
affairs  with  honesty  and  wisdom  since  the  conquest 
of  these  lands.  France  has  done  the  same  with'  Nice 
and  Savoy.  Great  Britain  is  ruling  India  with  justice 
and  humanity.  We  have  reached  a stage  of  civiliza- 
tion when  the  Japanese  leaders  and  the  Japanese 
people  do  not  dream  of  deliberately  grinding  down 
their  Korean  subjects,  or  those  of  Manchuria,  should 
they  conquer  Manchuria ; when,  indeed,  they  could  not 
inflict  any  marked  and  permanent  injustice  upon  them 
without  the  protest,  the  financial  boycott,  and,  if  need 
be,  the  armed  intervention  of  other  nations  of  the 
world.  But  if  Japan  is  to  take  control  of  Manchuria 
and  grant  to  the  Chinese  economic  privileges  substan- 
tially equal  to  the  privileges  which  Japanese  settling 
in  Manchuria  shall  possess,  then  the  Chinese,  already 
in  possession  of  these  lands,  able  and  willing  to  stand 
a larger  amount  of  hard  work  than  their  Japanese 
neighbors  can  perform  upon  the  land,  and  with  the 
larger  experience  and  skill  in  merchandise,  will  mul- 
tiply faster  than  the  Japanese,  and  either  will  absorb 
them,  or  else  in  the  economic  struggle  will  drive  them 
from  the  country.  Professor  lyenaga,  Japanese  lec- 
turer on  political  science  at  the  University  of  Chi- 


404  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


cago,  recognizes  that  the  Chinese  in  Manchuria  sur- 
pass the  Japanese  both  in  industries  and  in  trade. 
What  possible  economic  gain  can  Japan  contemplate 
as  the  result  of  the  seizure  of  Manchuria  and  the 
attempt  to  administer  that  country  on  terms  giving 
the  Manchurians  substantial  equality  with  them- 
selves? On  the  other  hand,  if  Japan  deliberately  re- 
solves to  exploit  the  Manchurians  for  the  enrichment 
of  her  own  people,  then  a state  of  chronic  warfare 
with  the  military  expenditures  portrayed  above 
must  lead  Japan  into  national  bankruptcy,  even 
provided  the  other  nations  would  tolerate  such  in- 
humanity. 

IV.  Other  Nations  Will  Not  Permit  Japan  to 
Hold  the  Overlordship  of  China 

Japan  is  under  treaty  obligations  with  the  other 
nations  of  the  earth  to  maintain  the  open  door  in  Man- 
churia. In  order  to  do  this  she  is  also  under  obliga- 
tion to  maintain  the  integrity  of  China.  Japan  joined 
the  other  leading  nations  of  the  earth  in  solemn  treaty 
to  this  effect  in  1900.  She  renewed  the  covenant 
with  Russia  in  the  Treaty  of  Portsmouth  in  1905. 
Again  she  renewed  this  solemn  promise  with  the 
United  States  in  the  Root-Takahira  Agreement  in 
1908.  She  renewed  it  with  Great  Britain  in  her  alli- 
ance of  1909  and  in  the  renewal  of  that  alliance  in 
1913.  These  five  recent  treaties  are  a formal  notice 
that  the  nations  of  the  world  will  no  more  permit 
Japan  to  upset  the  balance  of  power  and  disturb  the 
peace  of  the  world  by  large  aggressions  in  the  Par 
East  than  they  would  permit  a similar  action  through 


CHINA  AND  JAPAN 


405 


the  seizure  of  Switzerland  or  Belj^ium  or  Holland  by 
any  European  nation.  If  Japanese  statesmen  have  a 
wise  regard  for  the  considerate  opinions  of  mankind, 
they  will  pause  long  before  attempting  to  set  aside 
treaty  obligations  and  disturb  the  balance  of  power  in 
such  a way  as  to  involve  the  nations  of  the  earth  in  a 
united  struggle  against  herself.  It  is  simply  incred- 
ible that  the  Western  nations  will  sit  idly  by  and 
permit  Japan’s  attempt  to  secure  the  headship  of 
the  Chinese  race  in  addition  to  her  own  and  to 
become  the  dominant  power  in  the  Pacific  Basin  for 
centuries. 

V.  China  Alone  Will  Defe.\t  Japan’s  Plans  for 
Her  Conquest — Toughness  and  Strength  of 
Chinese  Character  and  Civilization 

I.  While  the  Japanese  Military  Party  cite  the  con- 
quests and  the  long  rule  of  the  Chinese  by  the  Mongols 
and  the  Manchus  as  an  assurance  of  their  ability  to 
conquer  and  rule  China,  a careful  study  of  these 
struggles  shows  that  while  they  began  as  foreign 
conquests  they  ended  in  Chinese  victories.  China  was 
conquered  and  ruled  by  the  Mongols  1280-1368  and 
by  the  IManchus  1644-1911.  But  neither  the  Mongol 
nor  the  Manchu  language  or  civilization  made  any 
lasting  advance  as  the  result  of  the  conquest.  On 
the  contrary,  both  languages  soon  ceased  to  be  spoken, 
even  by  their  own  peoples  living  in  China;  and  the 
Chinese  language  largely  penetrated  Mongolia  and 
has  almost  displaced  the  Manchu  language  in  Man- 
churia. The  real  conquest  of  China  by  either  of  these 
nations  was  no  greater  than  was  the  conquest  of  Eng- 


4o6  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


land  by  Germany  when  England  accepted  the  Georges 
as  kings.  It  is  said  that  the  late  dowager  empress, 
whose  reputation  as  a scholar  far  exceeded  that  of 
Edward  VII,  could  not  speak  her  native  Manchu, 
while  Edward  spoke  German  fluently.  Moreover,  in 
case  of  both  the  Mongols  and  the  Manchus,  Chinese 
civilization  transformed  the  conquerors  more  com- 
pletely than  Greek  civilization  transformed  Alex- 
ander’s kingdom. 

2.  Wherever  intermarriage  between  the  Chinese 
and  other  races  takes  place  the  descendants  are  largely 
Chinese  in  characteristics.  In  marriages  of  the  Chi- 
nese with  Mongols,  Manchus,  Burmese,  Hawaiians, 
and  Malays,  these  races  have  been  transformed 
into  Chinese,  with  comparatively  few  cases  of  the 
descendants  of  the  Chinese  transformed  in  habits 
and  character  into  Malays  or  Mongols.  Buddhism 
came  to  China  as  a missionary  religion  about  the 
time  of  Christ.  It  is  well  known  that  the  Hinayana, 
or  original  form  of  Buddhism,  was  after  a few 
centuries  transformed  into  the  Mahayana  form  of 
Buddhism.^®  It  was  by  this  transformation  that 
Buddhism  became  a popular  religion  embracing 
multitudes  of  followers.  This  transformation  of  Bud- 
dhism was  inaugurated  in  India.  But  the  Rev. 
Timothy  Richard,^^  of  China,  and  Professor  Lloyd, 
of  Japan,  maintain  that  the  transformation  of  Bud- 
dhism was  carried  forward  to  more  vital  changes 
after  its  introduction  to  the  Far  East.  Following 
Indian  initiative,  the  Chinese  have  so  transformed 


**  Encyclopaedia  Britannica,  vol.  xvii,  p.  395,  c. 

Richard,  Timothy:  New  Testament  of  Higher  Buddhism,  chap,  i, 
Lloyd,  Arthur;  The  Wheat  Among  Tares,  chap.  .\i. 


CHINA  AND  JAPAN  407 

Buddhism  that  it  bears  little  resemblance  to  the  orig- 
inal teachings  and  practices  of  Gotama. 

3.  Nestorian  Christianity  entered  China  A.  D.  505, 
but  the  Chinese  so  completely  transformed  it,  or  else 
encysted  it  and  left  it  to  perish,  that  only  a single 
tablet  preserved  to  us  by  the  Chinese  furnishes  the 
evidence  that  such  a religion  ever  entered  the  empired® 

4.  The  Jews  came  to  China  and  once  numbered 
many  thousands.  But  this  persistent  and  uncom- 
promising race  has  been  so  fully  absorbed  that  the 
few  poor  families  left  at  their  original  seat  of  wor- 
ship do  not  know  a word  of  Hebrew,  and  their  wor- 
ship of  the  true  God  in  the  Chinese  language  has 
entirely  ceased.^" 

5.  If  Mohammedanism  has  fared  better  than  Juda- 
ism and  Nestorian  Christianity  so  far  as  winning 
adherents  and  maintaining  an  existence  is  concerned, 
probably  this  is  because  Mohammedanism,  as  we  saw 
in  Chapter  HI,  entered  the  country  along  with  trade 
and  was  supported  by  economic  causes.  Neverthe- 
less, the  Chinese  have  so  encysted  this  foreign  faith 
that  it  has  not  made  any  impression  upon  Confucian- 
ism or  “had  the  least  influence  on  the  polytheism  of 
the  nation  or  in  elevating  the  tone  of  morals.” 
With  the  failure  of  the  Mohammedan  Rebellion  of 
1862-76  “those  Mohammedans  who  might  be  said  to 
be  Chinese  in  ways  and  appearance  ceased  to  possess 
any  political  importance.  It  would  not  be  going  much 
too  far  to  say  that  they  no  longer  existed.” 

“ Yule’s  Edition  Marco  Polo.  See  the  index  references  to  Nestorianism. 

“Williams.  S.  Wells:  The  Middle  Kingdom,  vol.  ii,  p.  274. 

“ Ibid.,  vol.  ii,  p.  269. 

“ Boulger,  Demetrius:  Short  History  of  China,  pp.  339-342, 


4o8  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


VI.  Japan  Can  Overthrow  Temporarily  the 
Existing  Government  in  China,  but  She 
Cannot  Placate  and  Control  the  People 

I.  Before  Japan  attempts  such  serious  interfer- 
ence in  China  as  was  proposed  in  1915,  she  ought  to 
decide  upon  her  permanent  policy  toward  the  Chinese 
people.  Even  if  Japan  limits  herself  to  a humble  pro- 
gram of  conquest  and  resolves  to  take  only  Manchuria 
and  to  let  China  develop  her  own  resources  without 
interference,  provided  China  leaves  Japan  in  peace- 
able possession  of  her  capture,  then  Japan  will  find 
a nation  of  over  three  hundred  million  people  rapidly 
emerging  into  a stage  of  modern  civilization.  She 
will  find  also  that  the  military  stage  is  the  earliest 
and  the  easiest  form  of  civilization  for  a nation  to 
assume.  The  art  of  war  is  speedily  and  easily  learned 
so  far  as  the  masses  are  concerned.  General  Gordon’s 
estimate  of  the  Chinese  soldiers  was,  that  if  well 
armed,  well  drilled,  well  fed,  clothed  and  paid  and 
well  led,  they  are  equal  to  British  soldiers. 

The  Japanese  already  have  learned  the  art  of  war 
as  fully  as  have  Western  nations.  Probably  the  Jap- 
anese soldiers  are  not  excelled  by  any  other  soldiers  on 
earth.  When  we  consider  the  officers,  China  has 
developed  as  many  great  generals  as  Japan.  When  it 
comes  to  national  resources  in  comparison  with  na- 
tional indebtedness,  and  especially  when  it  comes  to 
potential  resources  upon  which  as  well  as  upon  pres- 
ent resources  capitalists  make  loans,  the  Chinese 
nation  surpasses  Japan  even  more  than  in  numbers. 
Can  Japan  rob  the  bear  of  its  young  and  yet  allow  this 


409 


CHINA  AND  JAPAN 

bear,  sixfold  larger  than  herself,  to  continue  to  in- 
crease in  strength  for  another  half  century  to  come? 
If  so,  she  simply  dooms  herself  to  annihilation  at  the 
close  of  that  half  century.  If  Japan  decides  to  take 
Manchuria,  probably  she  will  be  forced  in  the  end  to 
undertake  the  subjugation  of  all  China.  Japan  prob- 
ably could  easily  overthrow  the  present  Chinese  gov- 
ernment, first,  because  the  government  is  temporarily 
ill  through  the  corruption  and  downfall  of  the  Manchu 
dynasty,  and  there  has  not  yet  been  time  for  anarchy 
and  revolts  to  disappear  and  any  vigorous  govern- 
ment to  become  established;  and,  second,  because 
Yuan  Shill  Kai  has  awakened  the  deep  resentment  of 
Young  China  by  attempting  to  reestablish  monarchy; 
and  third,  because  Japan  is  forty  years  in  advance  of 
China  in  the  acceptance  of  the  material  civilization 
and  the  arts  of  war  of  the  Western  world.  But  even 
as  a military  power  China  has  been  stronger  than 
Japan  during  the  far  greater  portion  of  their  re- 
spective lives.  It  is  entirely  possible  for  a strong 
nation  to  fall  ill  during  her  three  thousand  years  of 
history  and  for  a smaller  nation  to  be  stronger  than 
herself  during  this  crisis.  But  it  is  incredible  that 
the  Chinese  people,  outnumbering  the  Japanese  six 
fold,  man  for  man  equaling  if  not  surpassing  them  in 
industry  and  commerce,  having  been  stronger  as  a 
military  power  than  Japan  for  twenty-nine  hundred 
of  her  three  thousand  years  of  history,  should  reverse 
history  and  the  laws  of  survival  and  remain  per- 
manently weaker  than  Japan.  To  the  student  of  his- 
tory the  permanent  conquest  of  the  Chinese  by  the 
Japanese  is  impossible  unless  the  Chinese  are  a dead 


410  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


or  a dying  people;  and  outside  a few  Japanese,  not  a 
foreigner  residing  in  China  accepts  this  view. 

2.  It  is  true  that  the  Chinese  have  ranked  soldiers 
in  the  fifth  and  lowest  class;  they  believe  in  reason 
rather  than  force  as  the  means  of  settling  disputes, 
and  are  slow  to  enter  upon  a fight.  But,  like  men  of 
slow  temper,  the  Chinese  people  when  once  aroused 
never  know  when  or  how  to  quit  fighting.  Dr.  Ernst 
Faber,  a calm,  well-balanced  German  missionary  who 
lived  among  the  Chinese  for  a generation  and  had  an 
unusual  knowledge  of  Chinese  history,  declared  them 
to  be  a race  of  strong  fighters  and  cited  their  worship 
of  the  god  of  war  in  confirmation  of  his  view.  Any 
observer  of  Chinese  temples  can  confirm  Dr.  Faber’s 
statement  that,  next  to  the  worship  of  ancestral  spirits 
and  the  god  of  wealth,  the  Chinese  worship  the  god 
of  war.  We  have  read  three  thousand  years  of 
Chinese  history,  marking  their  wars.  Making  the 
best  arrangement  possible  of  the  often  vague  and 
imperfect  data,  we  find  that  China  has  averaged  one 
war,  either  internal  or  external,  every  fifteen  years 
during  this  entire  period.  Surely,  Chinese  history 
does  not  reveal  the  Chinese  as  the  peaceable,  easily 
governed  people  whom  the  Japanese  love  to  portray. 

3.  The  Chinese  claim  that  they  inaugurated  fifty- 

two  rebellions  against  the  Manchus.  Certainly,  the 
Chinese  never  ceased  their  uprisings  against  the  Mon- 
gols and  the  Manchus  until  finally  they  overthrew 
both.  The  strength  and  intensity  of  the  wars  against 
their  conquerors  is  illustrated  by  a closer  study  of 
three  of  these  recorded  uprisings : In  the  Szechwan- 

ese  uprising  against  the  Chinese  usurper  Chang  and 


CHINA  AND  JAPAN  41 1 

against  the  Manchus,  Faber^'^  records  a loss  of  6,ocxd,- 
cxxD  people  out  of  a population  at  that  time  of  some 
25,000,000.  Parker  makes  the  loss  far  greater  than 
Faber  records.  In  several  weeks  spent  in  travel  in 
the  Szechwan  Province  in  1915  we  heard  simply  uni- 
versal denunciation  of  Japanese  aggressions  in  China. 
We  are  sure  the  68,000,000  people  occupying  this 
province  will  resist  the  Japanese  as  stubbornly  as 
they  resisted  the  Manchus;  and  with  the  long  dis- 
tance to  transport  troops  and  supplies  and  main- 
tain their  connection  with  the  home  base,  we  do 
not  think  it  possible  for  the  Japanese  to  placate  the 
Szechwanese  alone  in  a century  to  say  nothing  of  the 
twenty-one  other  provinces  of  China.  Again  his- 
torians speak  of  uprisings  against  the  Manchus  at 
the  close  of  the  eighteenth  and  opening  of  the  nine- 
teenth century  which  shook  the  empire  to  its  base. 
Boulger  says  of  this  struggle:  “Minor  troubles  cul- 
minated in  the  Miaotze  rebellion — the  most  formid- 
able internal  war  between  that  of  Wu  San-kwei  and 
the  Taiping  rebellion.”  A third  of  these  uprisings 
against  the  -Manchus,  the  Taiping  rebellion,  took  place 
under  the  eyes  of  the  civilized  world,  raging  from 
1852  to  1865.  So  determined  and  so  desperate  were 
the  Chinese  that  Williams  estimates  the  loss  of  the 
Taiping  rebellion,  including  those  killed,  dying  of 
plagues,  other  diseases,  and  starvation,  at  20,000,000 
people,  and  Parker  places  the  losses  at  40,000,000.^® 

4.  Napoleon  found  it  very  easy  to  capture  Madrid, 

“ Faber,  Ernst:  Chronological  Handbook  of  the  History  of  the  Chinese, 
p.  229. 

“ Boulger,  Demetrius:  Short  History  of  China,  pp.  200-202. 

‘‘Parker,  E.  H.:  China:  Her  History,  Diplomacy,  and  Commerce,  p.  190. 


412  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


but  impossible  to  conquer  the  Spaniards.  He  found 
it  easy  to  invade  Russia  and  reach  the  capital,  but  he 
found  Moscow  burning  when  he  reached  it  and  the 
people  falling  back,  burning  their  homes  and  crops 
and  driving  their  cattle  before  the  invading  army; 
and  the  greatest  conqueror  of  the  world,  who  went 
out  with  six  hundred  thousand  men,  returned  with  a 
pitiful  handful  of  survivors  from  his  Russian  cam- 
paign. With  such  stuff  as  Chinese  men  are  made  of, 
with  such  an  immense  population,  and  with  such  poor 
means  of  communication,  if  the  Chinese  simply  fall 
back  from  one  defense  to  another,  hanging  upon  the 
flanks  of  the  Japanese,  burning  and  destroying  prop- 
erty upon  either  side  as  they  did  in  the  case  of  Kox- 
inga’s  invasion,  the  Japanese  army  might  find  it  easy 
to  capture  Peking,  Tientsin,  Shanghai,  Nanking, 
Hankow,  and  Canton;  but  she  would  find  it  impos- 
sible to  subdue  and  transform  and  assimilate  more 
than  three  hundred  million  Chinese.  In  a word,  in 
a contest  of  physical  force  and  courage,  fifty  million 
Japanese  cannot  keep  under  control  thirty  million 
hostile  subjects  as  Japan  would  be  obliged  to  do  after 
the  conquest  of  Manchuria,  and  then  conquer  and 
placate  over  three  hundred  million  additional  people, 
each  of  whom,  man  for  man,  is  stronger  than  his 
opponent.  However  long  or  short  the  contest  might 
be,  whether  the  destruction  came  through  financial 
failure  or  through  picking  off  by  sniping,  or  through 
exposure,  disease,  and  lack  of  supplies,  or  whether  it 
came  by  the  slower  method  of  absorption  as  the 
Chinese  have  absorbed  the  Mongols  and  the  Manchus, 
we  are  sure  that  even  if  China  were  unaided  by  the 


CHINA  AND  JAPAN  4C3 

Western  world,  the  final  termination  of  a struggle 
between  Japan  and  China  would  end  in  the  destruction 
of  Japan. 

VII.  The  Chief  Positive  Political  Considera- 

tion 

The  chief  positive  political  consideration  which 
should  lead  Japan  to  cease  all  aggression  on  China 
and  cultivate  the  most  friendly  relations  with  the 
Chinese  is  her  need  of  the  Chinese  to  help  her  to 
secure  fair  treatment  by  the  white  races.  We  shall 
point  out  the  danger  confronting  the  yellow  races  in 
Chapter  XVIII.  In  view  of  Japan’s  need  of  help  in 
order  to  secure  her  just  rights,  her  present  treatment 
of  over  300,000,000  of  the  yellow  race  whose  help  she 
so  sorely  needs  is  suicidal. 

VIII.  Japan  Has  a Vastly  Higher  and  Nobler 
Destiny  Confronting  Her  than  Can  Pos- 
sibly Arise  from  the  Savage  Program  of 
Military  Conquest. 

I.  The  alternative  which  confronts  Japan  is  the 
leadership  of  the  Far  East  industrially  and  commer- 
cially for  half  a century,  and  the  possible  leadership 
in  civilization  and  humanitarianism  for  ages  to  come. 
Japan  already  has  the  leadership  of  the  Far  East  in 
commerce,  in  industry,  and  in  science;  and  she  is 
making  rapid  advance  in  modern  inventions.  One  of 
the  leading  English  newspapers  reports  that  the  Uni- 
versity of  Tokyo  is  not  surpassed  in  teaching  the 
applied  sciences  and  modern  medicine  by  any  uni- 
versity in  Europe  or  America.  We  have  studied  the 


414  CHINA;  AN  INTERPRETATION 


catalogue  of  this  university,  visited  it,  and  found  in 
a single  department  in  applied  science  sixteen  pro- 
fessors, each  of  whom  has  his  Ph.D.  degree  either 
from  an  xVmerican  or  a European  university.  We 
have  found  in  the  government  hospital  at  Seoul  a 
medical  equipment  surpassed  by  few  hospitals  in  the 
Western  world  and  unequaled  by  any  other  hospital 
in  the  Far  East  except  Tokyo  itself,  and  the  United 
States  government  hospital  at  Manila.  If  Japan  does 
not  fritter  away  in  wars,  her  men  and  her  resources, 
it  is  possible  with  the  five  thousand  miles  advantage 
which  Almighty  God  has  given  her  over  any  other 
rival,  for  her  to  secure  precedence  over  the  Western 
world  in  industry  and  commerce  in  the  Pacific  Basin 
for  the  next  half  century. 

2.  But  God  has  called  the  Japanese  to  a larger 
service  than  this.  We  have  sometimes  thought  that 
the  western  side  of  the  Pacific  Ocean  is  to  repeat  on 
a large  scale  not  simply  the  history  of  the  nineteenth 
century  in  the  Atlantic  Basin,  but  the  history  of  the 
early  centuries  around  the  Mediterranean.  The 
Koreans  seem  to  show  a genius  for  religion.  Just  as 
God  permitted  the  Israelites  to  rest  under  bitter 
bondage  to  the  Babylonians  until  polytheism  was 
pressed  out  of  them,  so  he  may  be  suffering  the 
Koreans  to  lose  their  nationality  in  order  that  they 
may  make  God  their  heritage.  The  Japanese,  upon 
the  other  hand,  have  many  of  the  qualities  of  the 
Greeks.  They  are  the  most  brilliant  and  versatile  of 
the  Oriental  races.  Their  minds  are  constantly  open 
to  new  truth.  They  are  leading  not  only  in  Western 
scholarship  and  Western  sciences,  but  in  certain  types 


CIITNA  AND  JAPAN  415 

of  drawing  and  painting  which  the  Western  nations 
will  not  rival.  Tt  is  certainly  possible,  therefore,  that 
just  as  Plato  and  Socrates  and  Phidias  have  ruled 
the  Western  world  intellectually  and  jesthetically  for 
centuries,  so  the  Japanese  may  remain  the  intellec- 
tual leaders  of  the  Eastern  world  for  generations  to 
come. 

3.  But  greater  possibilities  than  this  are  before 
the  Japanese,  namely,  the  leadership  of  the  world  in 
modern  humanitarianism.  It  is  remarkable  that 
Japan  began  her  acceptance  of  Western  civilization 
by  the  choice  of  Herbert  Spencer  as  her  philosoph- 
ical and  scientific  adviser  and  by  the  acceptance 
through  him  of  an  agnostic  position  in  regard  to 
Christianity  and  the  future  life,  and  also  by  the 
acceptance  through  him  of  pure  individualism  in 
the  economic  and  political  sphere.  Mr.  Spencer  con- 
demned patriotism  and  all  forms  of  self-sacrifice 
for  the  sake  of  a nation  as  leading  individuals  directly 
away  from  their  goal.  He  held  to  the  greatest  happi- 
ness of  the  greatest  number  as  the  guiding  principle 
in  ethics.  Inasmuch  as  the  state  and  the  church  have 
no  conscious  life,  but  are  abstract  entities  incapable 
either  of  happiness  or  pain,  Mr.  Spencer  maintained 
that  for  an  individual  to  give  up  his  own  personal 
enjoyment,  and  especially  to  sacrifice  his  life  for  the 
sake  of  the  state  or  the  church  was  a violation  of  the 
fundamental  principles  of  ethics  and  the  height  of 
folly.  Such,  in  brief,  were  the  open  teachings  of  the 
man  whom  Japan  called  as  her  philosophical  and 
economic  and  political  mentor.  It  is  the  highest  trib- 
ute on  the  one  side  to  the  persuasive  power  of  the 


4i6  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


gospel,  and  on  the  other  side  to  the  Japanese  capacity 
for  spiritual  insight  that  in  the  crises  of  their  late 
wars,  the  Japanese  rose  instantly  from  the  lower  plane 
of  individualism  to  the  higher  plane  of  patriotism. 

4,  At  this  point  Japan  has  reached  the  parting  of 
the  ways.  Already  she  has  advanced  half  way  up  the 
road  to  Calvary ; she  has  sacrificed  her  individ- 
ualism for  the  sake  of  the  family;  she  has  sacrificed 
her  family  life  for  the  sake  of  the  nation;  and  thus 
she  has  made  Japan  great  in  the  eyes  of  all  the  world. 
Can  she  now  climb  the  farther  steep  ascent  to  Cal- 
vary? Can  she  put  the  cross  above  the  flag,  the 
interests  of  humanity  above  the  interests  of  the  Jap- 
anese? Upon  her  answer  to 'this  question  depends 
not  only  the  present  peace  of  the  world  but  Japan’s 
ultimate  survival  as  a nation.  We  trust  that  Japan 
will  answer  this  question  with  that  same  wisdom  and 
prophetic  foresight  which  has  led  her  to  her  present 
glorious  heights.  “Jesus  Christ  is  the  only  name 
under  heaven  given  among  men  whereby  we  may  be 
saved.”  Japan  is  called  to  become  not  simply  the 
leader  in  the  industries  and  commerce  of  the  Far 
East  in  the  twentieth  century,  not  simply  the  leader 
in  the  intellectual  life  and  art  of  the  Far  East  for  cen- 
turies to  come,  but  the  leader  of  the  Far  East,  and  in 
some  measure  of  the  human  race  in  applied  Chris- 
tianity. 

Books  for  Reference 

Angell,  Norman : Europe’s  Optical  Illusion.  Boulger,  Deme- 
trius: A Short  History  of  the  Chinese.  Brinkley,  Captain  F. : 
Oriental  Series;  China  and  Japan,  Vols.  XI,  XII,  and  XIII; 
China,  Its  History,  Arts,  and  Literature.  The  Christian  Move- 


CHINA  AND  JAPAN  417 

merit  in  Japan,  1914:  Encyclopaedia  Rritannica,  eleventh 
edition.  Faber,  Ernst:  Chronological  Handbook  of  the  His- 
tory of  China.  King,  F.  H. ; Farmers  of  Forty  Centuries. 
Loyd,  Arthur:  The  Wheat  Among  Tares.  Marco  Polo,  Yule’s 
edition.  McCormick,  Frederick:  The  Flowery  Republic. 
Parker,  E.  H. : China : Her  History,  Diplomacy,  and  Com- 
merce. Richard,  Timothy:  The  New  Testament  of  Higher 
Buddhism.  Williams,  S.  Wells:  The  Middle  Kingdom  (2 
\’ols.). 


CHAPTER  XVII 

CHINA  AND  THE  UNITED  STATES 

With  the  exception  of  the  Exclusion  Act,  the  en- 
tire relation  of  China  and  the  United  States  has  been 
one  of  traditional  friendship.  “The  position  of 
America  with  respect  to  China  was  defined  in  1843 
as  one  of  complete  neutrality,  friendship,  and  disin- 
terested aid  in  the  preservation  to  China  of  her  sov- 
ereignty and  her  place  among  the  nations.”  ^ This 
friendship  was  due  in  part  to  the  attitude  of  our  gov- 
ernment in  regard  to  opium : a question  of  vital  im- 
portance to  China.  Li  Hung-chang,  one  of  China’s 
greatest  statesmen  in  the  nineteenth  century,  said  that 
the  single  article  of  opium  imported  “equals  in  value 
all  other  goods  brought  into  China,  and  is  greater 
than  all  the  tea  or  all  the  silk — the  two  chief  articles 
of  export — sent  out  of  the  country.”  ^ He  added  in 
a letter  to  the  United  States  in  1882:  “Opium  is  a sub- 
ject in  the  discussion  of  which  England  and  China 
can  never  meet  on  common  ground.  China  views  the 
whole  question  from  a moral  standpoint;  England 
from  a fiscal.  England  would  sustain  a source  of 
revenue  in  India,  while  China  contends  for  the  lives 
and  property  of  her  people.  . . . The  present  import 
duty  on  opium  was  established  by  China,  not  from 
choice  but  because  China  submitted  to  the  adverse 
decision  of  arms.  The  war  must  be  considered  as 

* McCormick.  Frederick:  The  Flowery  Republic,  p.  300. 

’ Foster,  John  W.;  American  Diplomacy  in  the  Orient,  p.  296. 

418 


CHINA  AND  THE  UNITED  STATES  419 


China’s  standing  protest  against  legalizing  such  a 
revenue.  . . . The  new  treaty  with  the  United 

States,  containing  the  prohibitory  clause  against 
opium,  encourages  the  belief  that  the  broad  prin- 
ciples of  justice,  as  well  as  of  humanity,  will  prevail 
in  the  future  relations  between  China  and  the  Western 
nations.”^  Mr.  Foster  adds  in  regard  to  Great  Brit- 
ain’s connection  with  the  opium  traffic:  “There  is 
much  to  be  said  in  commendation  of  the  British  gov- 
ernment in  its  relations  with  the  Orient.  But  its  con- 
nection with  the  opium  traffic  in  China  has  left  a dark 
and  ineffaceable  stain  upon  its  record.”  * As  early 
as  1858,  when  Mr.  Reed  was  sent  out  to  negotiate  a 
treaty  with  China,  he  was  instructed  to  say  to  that 
government;  The  “effort  of  China  to  prevent  the 
importation  and  consumption  of  opium  is  praise- 
worthy. The  United  States  will  not  seek  for  its 
citizens  the  legal  establishment  of  opium,  nor  will  it 
uphold  them  in  any  attempt  to  violate  the  laws  of 
China  by  the  introduction  of  that  article  into  the 
country.”  ® Dr.  W.  A.  P.  Martin,  who  acted  as  Mr. 
Reed’s  translator  on  this  occasion,  said  that  in  the 
first  draft  submitted  by  the  United  States  to  China 
there  was  an  article  denouncing  and  forbidding  the 
opium  trade;  but  that  Mr.  Reed  was  induced  by  Lord 
Elgin  to  withdraw  that  article,  greatly  to  the  surprise 
of  the  Chinese  negotiators.®  But  while  Mr.  Reed 
withdrew  the  formal  denunciation  of  the  opium  trade 
in  the  treaty  negotiations  between  the  two  govern- 
ments, the  position  of  our  government  had  been  ren- 


> Ibid.,  pp.  297,  298. 
‘ Ibid.,  p.  299. 


* Ibid.,  p.  299. 

• Ibid.,  p.  299. 


420  CHINA;  AN  INTERPRETATION 


dered  entirly  clear  to  China  by  Mr.  Reed’s  formal 
declaration,  made  on  the  authority  of  the  government, 
denying  protection  to  American  citizens  engaged  in 
the  opium  business. 

Again,  the  Chinese  people  suffered  greatly  from 
the  coolie  trade  which  sprang  up  at  Macao,  chiefly 
under  the  Portuguese  government.  ' The  American 
consul  at  Hongkong  reported  to  his  government  that 
this  trade  ‘‘differed  from  the  African  slave  trade  in 
little  else  than  the  employment  of  fraud  instead  of 
force  to  make  its  victims  captive.”  ^ Hon.  Wm.  H. 
Seward,  who  visited  China  on  his  tour  around  the 
world  in  1868-70,  described  this  coolie  trade  as  “an 
abomination  scarcely  less  execrable  than  the  African 
slave  trade.”  The  United  States  won  the  friendship 
of  China  by  the  passage  of  a law  in  1862  making  it 
unlawful  for  American  vessels  to  transport  subjects 
of  China  or  any  Oriental  countries  known  as  coolies 
to  any  foreign  port  to  be  held  for  service  or  labor. 
The  law  was  a strict  one  and  was  strictly  enforced  by 
our  government,  and  all  American  vessels  and  citizens 
were  speedily  driven  out  of  this  iniquitous  traffic. 

In  1880  the  United  States  government,  at  the  spe- 
cial request  of  the  Chinese  government,  and  in  order 
to  help  China  in  dealing  with  other  nations,  concluded 
her  treaty  limiting  the  coming  of  Chinese  laborers  to 
the  United  States  by  an  additional  clause  formally 
prohibiting  the  opium  traffic  between  the  two  coun- 
tries : “Citizens  of  the  United  States  shall  not  be  per- 
mitted to  import  opium  into  any  of  the  open  ports  of 
China,  to  transport  it  from  one  open  port  to  another 


’ Foster,  John  W. ; American  Diplomacy  in  the  Orient,  p.  275. 


CHINA  AND  THE  UNITED  STATES  421 


open  port,  or  to  buy  and  sell  opium  in  any  of  the  open 
ports  of  China.”  This  absolute  prohibition  of  the 
opium  traffic  greatly  pleased  the  Chinese  and  was 
enforced  by  appropriate  legislation  upon  the  part  of 
our  country,  and  by  a thorough  administration  of  the 
laws  against  the  few  Americans  who  attempted  to 
enter  upon  that  trade. 

The  favorable  relations  between  China  and  the 
United  States  caused  by  our  original  treaty  of  1843 
and  our  attitude  in  regard  to  China’s  wishes  upon  the 
opium  question,  was  greatly  strengthened  by  the 
appointment  of  Anson  Burlingame  as  Minister  to 
China  during  President  Lincoln’s  administration.  It 
was  a curious  and  apparently  providential  interven- 
tion which  led  to  Mr.  Burlingame’s  transfer  to  China. 
He  had  taken  a prominent  part  as  a member  of  Con- 
gress from  Massachusetts  and  as  a brilliant  orator 
in  the  campaign  which  led  to  the  election  of  Mr.  Lin- 
coln to  the  presidency.  Later  he  was  appointed  by 
Mr.  Lincoln  as  minister  to  Austria-Hungary,  and 
proceeded  upon  his  journey  as  far  as  Paris.  The  Aus- 
trian government  declared  him  a persona  non  grata 
because  Mr.  Burlingame  had  ventured  in  public 
speeches  in  the  United  States  to  praise  the  Hungarian 
patriot,  Kossuth,  and  to  commend  the  rising  kingdom 
of  Italy  under  Victor  Emmanuel.  Accordingly,  Mr. 
Lincoln  transferred  Mr.  Burlingame  from  the  post 
at  Vienna  to  the  post  at  Peking ; and  Mr.  Burlingame 
reluctantly  accepted  the  transfer.  On  the  journey  to 
Peking  Mr.  Burlingame  reached  Canton  in  1861  and 
spent  several  months  visiting  the  various  treaty  ports 
between  Canton  and  Tientsin  in  order  to  familiarize 


422  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


himself  with  the  state  of  Chinese  affairs  and  with 
American  interests  before  reaching  Peking  in  July, 
1862.  On  reaching  the  capital  he  entered  into  his 
mission  in  full  accord  with  the  spirit  of  friendliness 
and  forbearance  which  at  that  time  actuated  the 
American  government  toward  China,  and  by  his 
attractive  personality  and  genial  manners  he  soon 
established  delightful  relations  with  Prince  Kung, 
Wen  Siang,  and  also  with  his  diplomatic  colleagues 
from  the  other  governments.  He  brought  before 
these  colleagues  a “policy  of  cooperation — an  effort 
to  substitute  fair  diplomatic  action  in  China  for 
force.”  ® This  friendly  action  was  greatly  appreci- 
ated by  the  Chinese  government  and  was  in  some 
measure  accepted  by  his  colleagues.  During  Mr. 
Burlingame’s  service  as  minister  a Chinese  scholar 
and  governor  of  the  Fukien  Province,  Sen  Ki-yu, 
wrote  a book  in  which  he  sought  to  show  the  Chinese 
that  the  Western  nations  were  not  the  barbarians 
which  the  action  of  certain  foreign  countries  had 
led  the  Chinese  to  believe.  In  this  book  Sen  Ki-yu 
especially  held  up  the  American  nation  as  an  enlight- 
ened government,  and  paid  the  following  tribute  to 
George  Washington : “In  devising  plans  he  was  more 
daring  than  Chin  Shing  or  Han  Kwang;  in  winning 
a country  he  was  braver  than  Tsau  Tsau  or  Lin  Pi; 
wielding  his  four-foot  sword,  he  enlarged  the  fron- 
tiers of  his  country  by  myriads  of  miles,  and  yet  he 
refused  to  usurp  imperial  dignity  or  to  transmit  it  to 
his  posterity,  but,  on  the  contrary,  was  the  first  to 
propose  the  plan  of  electing  men  to  office.  Where  in 


•Foster,  John  W.:  American  Diplomacy  in  the  Orient,  p.  258. 


CHINA  AND  THE  UNITED  STATES  423 

the  world  can  be  found  a mode  more  equitable?  It 
is  the  same  idea,  in  fact,  that  has  been  handed  down 
to  us  from  the  three  great  reigns  of  Yau,  Shun,  and 
Yu.  In  ruling  the  state  he  honored  and  fostered  good 
usages  and  did  not  exalt  military  merit — a principle 
totally  unlike  those  found  in  other  kingdoms.  I have 
seen  a portrait  of  him.  His  mien  and  countenance 
are  grand  and  impressive  in  the  highest  degree.  Ah ! 
who  is  there  that  does  not  call  him  a hero?””  For 
writing  a book  so  favorable  to  the  West  the  governor 
was  removed  from  office,  degraded,  and  left  in  private 
life  for  sixteen  years.  But  under  a new  Chinese 
sovereign  he  was  in  1866  recalled  to  public  life,  and 
made  a member  of  the  Tsung-li  Yamen,  or  Foreign 
Office,  at  Peking.  Mr.  Burlingame  called  Secretary 
Seward’s  attention  to  Sen  Ki-yu’s  career,  and  to  his 
eulogy  of  Washington.  Mr.  Seward  ordered  a por- 
trait of  our  first  President  painted  and  presented,  in 
the  name  of  the  United  States  government,  through 
Mr.  Burlingame,  to  Sen  Ki-yu.  Mr.  Burlingame  was 
instrumental  in  having  Dr,  W.  A.  P.  Martin,  his 
translator,  made  the  managing  director  of  an  impe- 
rial college  established  in  Peking  for  the  education 
in  Western  languages  of  a select  number  of  Chinese 
young  men;  and  he  also  secured  the  distribution  to 
officials  throughout  the  nation  of  a Chinese  version 
of  Wheaton’s  International  Law,  translated  by  Dr. 
Martin. 

During  his  six  years  at  Peking  Mr.  Burlingame 
found  himself  in  the  most  friendly  relations  with  Wen 
Siang,  the  ablest  Chinese  statesman  in  the  Foreign 


• Ibid.,  p.  260. 


424  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


Office;  and  he  used  his  American  influence  to  aid  in 
the  advancement  of  Sir  Robert  Hart,  a man  of  like 
spirit  with  himself  and  the  greatest  civil  servant  whom 
Great  Britain  ever  gave  to  China.  When  Mr.  Bur- 
lingame resigned  the  Chinese  made  a great  banquet 
for  him.  In  the  speeches  at  the  banquet,  Wen  Siang, 
half  in  earnest  and  half  in  compliment,  suggested  that 
Mr.  Burlingame  become  the  representative  of  the 
Chinese  government  to  the  Western  nations.  Sir 
Robert  Hart  saw  the  value  of  the  suggestion  and 
urged  the  Chinese  government  to  create  an  ambas- 
sadorship-in-general, and  select  Mr.  Burlingame  to 
fill  the  place.  Mr.  Burlingame  consulted  his  diplo- 
matic colleagues,  who  heartily  approved  of  the  action 
of  the  Chinese,  and  pledged  their  support  to  his  mis- 
sion. He  then  wrote  Secretary  Seward  as  follows: 
“When  the  oldest  nation  in  the  world,  containing  one 
third  of  the  human  race,  asks  for  the  first  time  to  come 
into  the  relations  with  the  West,  and  requests  the 
youngest  nation,  through  its  representative,  to  act 
as  the  medium  of  such  a change,  the  mission  is  one 
not  to  be  solicited  or  rejected.”  Mr.  Burlingame’s 
commission  by  the  Chinese  emperor  was  in  the  follow- 
ing terse  form : “The  envoy,  Anson  Burlingame, 
manages  affairs  in  a friendly  and  peaceful  manner, 
and  is  fully  acquainted  with  the  general  relations 
between  this  and  other  countries.  Let  him,  therefore, 
now  be  sent  to  all  the  treaty  powers  as  the  Minister 
Plenipotentiary  empowered  to  attend  to  every  ques- 
tion arising  between  China  and  those  countries.  This 
from  the  emperor.”"  Surely,  no  higher  proof  of 


“ Foster,  John  W. : American  Diplomacy  in  the  Orient,  p.  363.  “ Ibid.,  p.  363. 


CHINA  AND  THE  UNITED  STATES  425 

the  confidence  of  the  Chinese  nation  was  ever  f^iven 
to  a foreign  resident ; and  this  is  all  the  more  remark- 
able as  Mr.  Burlingame  was  not  able  to  write  or 
speak  a word  of  the  Chinese  language.  He  was  at 
first  received  with  coolness  in  London  by  the  older 
British  ofificials,  who  desired  to  adhere  to  the  tradi- 
tional, British,  coercive  policy.  But  his  persuasive 
address  and  enthusiastic  temperament  won  the  favor 
of  Queen  Victoria,  and  after  his  reception  by  the 
queen,  his  dignified  conduct  completely  disarmed 
opposition  and  created  a favorable  impression  not 
only  for  China  but  for  the  United  States. 

The  mission  had  its  origin  in  the  proposed  revi- 
sion of  the  Treaty  of  Tientsin  of  1858.  Unfortu- 
nately, the  death  of  Mr.  Burlingame,  at  Saint  Peters- 
burg, while  he  was  on  his  visitation  of  the  nations, 
prevented  the  consummation  of  his  mission;  and  the 
only  nation  which  immediately  acted  upon  the  pro- 
posal for  a revision  of  the  treaty  was  the  United 
States.  Mr.  Seward  drew  up  the  treaty,  stipulating 
the  preservation  of  the  territorial  integrity  of  the 
Chinese  empire,  and  disavowing  any  right  upon  the 
part  of  the  United  States  to  interfere  with  her  rights 
of  eminent  domain  or  jurisdiction  over  her  subjects 
and  property,  recognizing  the  right  of  China  to  regu- 
late her  own  internal  trade ; providing  for  the  appoint- 
ment of  consuls;  securing  exemption  from  persecu- 
tion of  Chinese  citizens  on  account  of  religion ; recog- 
nizing the  right  of  voluntary  emigration;  pledging 
the  privileges  of  residence  and  travel  to  the  citi- 
zens of  either  country  in  the  other  on  the  basis  of  the 
“most  favored  nation” ; securing  the  privilege  of 


426  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


establishing  schools  and  colleges  in  China;  disavow- 
ing any  intention  to  interfere  with  the  domestic  ad- 
ministration of  China  in  respect  to  public  improve- 
ments but  expressing  the  willingness  of  the  United 
States  to  aid  in  such  improvements  when  so  requested 
by  the  Chinese  government/^  The  treaty  was  a 
model  of  justice  and  of  friendliness,  embodied  in 
admirable  language.  Unfortunately,  the  continued 
opposition  of  England  to  the  opium  reform,  the  con- 
tinued conservatism  of  the  most  of  the  Chinese  officials 
and  the  continued  belief  in  the  coercive  policy  by  most 
of  the  foreign  diplomats  in  China,  resulted  in  the 
Tientsin  Massacre  in  1870,  which  to  a large  extent 
effaced  the  truer  interpretation  of  China  which  Mr. 
Burlingame  had  presented  to  the  Western  world. 
Indeed,  there  was  a strong  reaction  in  the  United 
States  itself  against  the  Burlingame  treaty. 

Before  considering  the  reaction,  however,  we 
should  bear  in  mind  that  the  United  States  through 
her  missionaries  introduced  free  schools  into  China. 
Her  influence  was  so  great  that  the  Chinese  govern- 
ment in  1870  selected  some  thirty  of  the  ablest  young 
men  in  the  empire  and  sent  them  to  the  United  States 
for  foreign  training,  and  followed  this  number  by 
an  additional  thirty  in  1871.  Unfortunately,  a few 
years  later,  under  a policy  of  reaction,  these  students 
were  recalled.  But  the  apparently  genuine  total  lack 
upon  the  part  of  the  American  representatives  of  a 
desire  for  territorial  aggression  or  for  unfair  advan- 
tages in  trade,  and  the  friendliness  and  democratic 
manner  of  the  American  missionaries  and  represen- 


Foster,  John  W.;  American  Diplomacy  in  the  Orient,  p.  266. 


CHINA  AND  THE  UNITED  STATES  427 

tatives  did  much  to  win  the  permanent  friendship  of 
China. 

In  accounting  for  the  friendly  relations  between  the 
United  States  and  China  we  must  not  overlook  the 
efforts  of  such  American  ministers,  in  addition  to 
Burlingame,  as  Parker,  Angell,  Denby,  Conger,  Rock- 
hill,  Calhoun,  and  Dr.  Reinsch.  Perhaps  of  equally 
great  or  greater  importance  is  the  service  of  such 
interpreters  as  S.  Wells  Williams  and  W.  A.  P. 
Martin,  two  of  the  greatest  American  scholars  ever 
given  to  a foreign  country,  such  diplomats  as  the  Hon. 
John  W.  Foster;  such  Presidents  for  friends  as 
Grant,  Hayes,  Arthur,  Roosevelt,  Taft,  and  Wilson; 
such  representatives  in  Congress  as  Senators  Platt,  of 
Connecticut,  and  Morton,  of  Indiana;  such  current 
publications  as  the  Chinese  Recorder  and  the  China 
Press;  such  men  as  W.  N.  Pethick,  for  many  years 
adviser  to  Li  Hung-chang,  whose  collection  of  news- 
paper clippings  relating  to  Li  Hung-chang  is  unap- 
proached by  those  relating  to  any  other  man  in 
China  such  representatives  of  the  Associated  Press 
as  Frederick  McCormick  and  Frederick  Moore;  such 
consuls  as  Jernigan  and  Wilder;  such  advisers  as 
Professor  Henry  C.  Adams,  of  the  University  of 
Michigan,  and  President  Frank  J.  Goodnow;  and  by 
missionaries  whose  services  to  China  are  priceless,  a 
roster  of  whom  would  include  almost  the  entire  list 
of  American  missionaries  to  China,  the  mention  of 
whose  names  is  less  necessary  here  because  their 
record  is  on  high.  On  the  other  hand,  the  friendliness 
between  the  two  nations  is  due  equally  to  such  Chinese 


“ Now  in  the  library  of  Peking  University. 


428  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


as  Yuan  Shih  Kai,  Kwang-su,  Prince  Chun,  Prince 
Kung,  Wu  Ting-fang,  Wen  Siang,  Admiral  Tsai 
Ting-kan,  Tang  Shao-yi,  Liang  Chi-chao,  Lu  Tseng- 
tsiang,  and  W.  W.  Yen:  and  such  Chinese  mission- 
aries as  Dr.  Hu  King-eng,  Dr.  Mary  Stone,  and  Dr. 
Ida  Kahn.  Sometimes,  indeed,  China  has  been  cari- 
catured by  those  who  have  made  hasty  trips.  But 
the  reports  of  most  visitors  like  ex-President  Grant 
and  ex-President  Eliot  are  favorable  and  have  contrib- 
uted to  the  good  will  of  the  two  countries. 

Another  cause  of  good  will  among  the  Chinese 
toward  Americans,  which  will  become  more  and  more 
potent  as  the  years  go  by,  is  the  work  undertaken  by 
the  China  Medical  Commission.  The  Commission 
aims  to  develop  in  China  scientific  medicine  and  scien- 
tific sanitation,  and  thus  place  the  Chinese  within  half 
a century,  so  far  as  their  health  is  concerned,  upon  a 
par  with  the  people  of  the  United  States.  The  Com- 
mission is  now  authorized  to  expend  one  hundred 
thousand  dollars  gold  per  month,  or  one  million  two 
hundred  thousand  "dollars  per  year;  and  the  expend- 
itures probably  will  presently  exceed  this  large  sum. 
The  work  is  wholly  humanitarian.  The  Commission, 
instead  of  relieving  missionary  societies  from  expend- 
itures, will,  by  advancing  the  standard  of  medical 
work,  compel  the  raising  of  the  standard  of  educa- 
tional work  and  of  all  other  mission  work  in  China, 
and  will  thus  increase  the  responsibilities  of  mission- 
ary societies.  The  people  of  no  nation  ever  before  in 
human  history  have  made  so  large,  so  thoroughly 
scientific  and  so  constructive  a contribution  to  the 
physical  welfare  of  another  nation.  The  effect  of  this 


CHINA  AND  THE  UNITED  STATES  429 


effort  toward  the  banishment  of  disease  from  a nation 
already  so  virile  as  the  Chinese,  will  not  become  fully 
apparent  before  two  or  three  generations  have  passed. 
But  the  century  and  more  of  missionary  effort  already 
put  forth  in  China,  the  splendid  service  of  the  Amer- 
ican government  in  aiding  her  sister  government  to 
suppress  foreign  traffic  in  Chinese  coolies,  foreign 
trade  in  opium,  and  to  preserve  her  sovereignty  and 
integrity,  the  return  of  the  Boxer  Indemnity  and  its 
use  in  educating  Chinese  students  in  American  uni- 
versities and  the  services  of  the  Chinese  Medical  Com- 
mission— all,  will  inaugurate  a new  epoch  in  inter- 
national relations  around  the  Pacific  Basin. 

The  traditional  friendship  between  the  two  coun- 
tries has  been  greatly  increased  by  the  friendship 
and  services  of  Americans  in  famine  relief,  especially 
in  the  Great  Famine  in  Shensi  and  the  severe  recent 
famines  in  the  Yangtze  Valley.  Still  more  has  this 
friendly  feeling  been  increased  by  the  protests  of  Mr. 
Hay  and  Mr.  Rockhill  against  the  large  indemnities 
imposed  upon  China  at  the  close  of  the  Boxer  Upris- 
ing, and  the  return  to  China  by  the  United  States 
of  all  her  unclaimed  indemnity.  This  is  leading  the 
Chinese  to  send  other  groups  of  students  to  America, 
whose  influence  upon  the  country  will  be  of  incal- 
culable worth. 

Despite  all  these  favorable  influences,  the  United 
States  faces  a most  serious  problem  with  China  and 
with  the  yellow  races  in  general,  on  account  of  her 
exclusion  policy.  The  stipulations  to  which  the  great- 
est value  were  attached  by  the  United  States  in  the 
Burlingame  Treaty  were  contained  in  Article  5,  which 


430  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

recognized  upon  the  part  of  both  governments  the 
inherent  and  inalienable  right  of  man  to  change  his 
home  and  allegiance,  and  also  the  mutual  advantage 
of  the  freest  immigration  and  emigration  of  their 
citizens  and  subjects  respectively  from  one  country  to 
the  other  for  purposes  of  travel,  of  trade  or  for  per- 
manent residence;  and  to  Article  6,  in  which  it  was 
provided  that  the  citizens  and  subjects  of  each  country 
respectively  should  enjoy  the  same  privileges  in 
respect  of  travel  or  residence  as  may  be  enjoyed  by 
the  citizens  or  subjects  of  the  most  favored  nation. 
President  Grant  and  the  American  people  generally 
were  fearful  that  we  should  not  be  able  to  induce 
China  to  sign  this  liberal  treaty,  and  Secretary 
Hamilton  Fish,  under  General  Grant,  instructed  the 
American  minister  in  Peking  to  exert  his  influence 
with  the  Chinese  authorities  to  bring  about  its  early 
ratification;  and  the  secretary  closed  his  letter  to  the 
minister  by  assuring  him  that  the  ratification  of  the 
treaty  “will  be  welcomed  by  the  United  States.” 
President  Hayes,  ten  years  later,  wrote  in  regard  to 
China’s  ratification  of  the  treaty,  “Unquestionably, 
the  adhesion  of  the  government  of  China  to  these 
liberal  principles  of  the  freedom  of  emigration  with 
which  we  are  so  familiar  and  with  which  we  are  so 
well  satisfied,  was  a great  advance  toward  opening 
that  empire  to  our  civilization  and  religion,  and  gave 
promise  in  the  future  of  greater  and  greater  prac- 
tical results  in  the  dififusion  throughout  that  great 
population  of  our  arts  and  industries,  our  manufac- 
tures, our  material  improvements,  and  the  sentiments 


“Foster,  John  W.:  American  Diplomacy  in  the  Orient,  p.  284. 


CHINA  AND  THE  UNITED  STATES  431 


of  government  and  religion  which  seemed  to  us  so 
important  to  the  welfare  of  mankind.” 

But  within  a few  years  after  the  ratification  of  the 
treaty,  our  foreign  and  native  workmen  found  them- 
selves unable  to  compete  with  the  Chinese  workmen 
who  were  pouring  into  our  Pacific  ports  as  immi- 
grants to  America.  Perhaps  this  cry  of  distress 
raised  by  the  American  workmen  is  the  greatest  com- 
pliment thus  far  paid  to  the  industry  and  ability  of 
their  Chinese  fellow  laborers.  At  any  rate,  the  hos- 
tility to  Chinese  immigration  rapidly  became  so  great 
that  in  1876  a joint  committee  of  the  two  Houses  was 
appointed  to  visit  the  Pacific  Coast  and  investigate  the 
character  and  extent  and  effect  of  immigration.  Two 
reports  were  submitted:  the  majority  report  strongly 
recommending  the  repeal  of  the  immigration  law ; and 
the  minority  report,  partially  completed  by  Senator 
Morton  before  his  death,  strongly  advocating  Amer- 
ican adherence  to  “the  great  and  eternal  doctrine  of 
the  equality  and  natural  rights  of  men  which  were  the 
foundation  of  the  political  system  of  the  United 
States.”  The  agitation  was  so  great  that  Congress 
passed  a bill  so  greatly  restricting  the  immigration 
of  the  Chinese  into  the  United  States  that,  in  the 
language  of  President  Hayes,  who  vetoed  it,  “It  fell 
little  short  of  absolute  exclusion.”  It  was,  therefore, 
in  direct  violation  of  the  Burlingame  Treaty  of  1868. 
The  bill  thus  far  failed  to  become  a law;  but  the  agi- 
tation continued  to  grow  and  a commission  was 
appointed  in  1880  under  the  leadership  of  James  B. 
Angell,  which  visited  China  and  secured  an  agree- 


Ibid.,  p.  285. 


432  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

merit  with  the  Chinese  government,  ratified  the  same 
year,  by  which  power  was  conferred  upon  the  United 
States  to  regulate,  limit,  or  suspend  such  coming  of 
residents,  but  not  absolutely  to  prohibit  them,  when- 
ever in  the  opinion  of  the  United  States  the  coming  of 
Chinese  laborers  threatened  to  affect  the  interests  of 
that  country^”  Under  this  new  treaty  Congress  in 
1882  passed  a drastic  bill  prohibiting,  or  suspending 
the  coming  of  Chinese  laborers  into  the  country  for 
a period  of  twenty  years.  This  bill  so  violated  the 
spirit  of  the  treaty  secured  by  Dr.  Angell  that  Presi- 
dent Arthur  vetoed  it.  But  the  clamor  continued,  and 
a new  treaty  was  proposed  between  the  United  States 
and  China  in  1888.  While  this  treaty  was  pending, 
however,  a presidential  campaign  was  approaching, 
and  Congress  passed  the  Scott  Act,  in  direct  viola- 
tion of  our  existing  treaties  with  China ; and  this  was 
allowed  to  become  a law  by  President  Cleveland. 
President  Cleveland,  however,  unwilling  to  allow  the 
stain  of  treaty  violation  to  rest  upon  the  United  States, 
negotiated  through  the  secretary  of  state  a new  treaty, 
signed  in  1894,  practically  giving  authority  to  the 
Scott  Act,  which  had  been  passed  by  our  government 
six  years  before.  The  sentiment  against  Chinese 
immigration  became  so  strong  that  it  was  proposed 
in  the  Fifty-seventh  Congress  to  make  the  prohibi- 
tion of  Chinese  laborers  permanent.  Senator  Lodge 
supported  this  act  on  the  ground,  first,  that  the 
Chinese  people  will  not  and  cannot  become  a part  of 
the  body  of  our  American  people ; second,  because  the 
Chinese  immigrants  create  economic  conditions  under 


Foster,  John  W.;  American  Diplomacy  in  the  Orient,  pp.  295-299. 


CHINA  AND  THE  UNITED  STATES  433 

which  American  laborers  cannot  survive.  Fortu- 
nately, Senator  Platt,  of  Connecticut,  by  appealing  to 
the  better  sentiment  of  the  country,  induced  Congress 
not  to  repudiate  its  solemn  treaty  obligations  with 
China  but  to  continue  the  present  regulations  until 
1904,  or  until  a new  treaty  could  be  concluded. 

It  should  be  added  that  the  United  States  has  thus 
far  failed  to  find  any  satisfactory  solution  of  the  immi- 
gration problem,  and  that  her  exclusion  of  the  Jap- 
anese as  well  as  Chinese  laborers  has  produced  a 
tense  situation  between  the  Japanese  nation  and  our- 
selves. The  Chinese  government,  on  economic,  on 
patriotic,  and  on  religious  grounds,  is  opposed  to 
people,  born  and  reared  in  China  until  they  reach  the 
period  of  economic  productivity,  deserting  that  land 
for  homes  or  even  temporary  residence  in  foreign 
lands.  Hence  we  judge  that  the  Chinese  government 
would  be  placated  by  a treaty  between  the  two  gov- 
ernments excluding  manual  laborers  from  each 
country,  or  excluding  from  permanent  admission 
persons  who  are  unable  to  read  and  write  their  own 
language;  or  admitting  persons  who  come  to  it  for 
commercial,  intellectual,  and  religious  purposes. 
Such  recommendations,  however,  probably  would  not 
prove  satisfactory  to  the  Japanese  at  the  present  time. 
Dr.  Sidney  L.  Gulick  has  proposed  a solution  which 
would  obviate  the  claim  made  by  Senator  Lodge  that 
the  people  of  the  yellow  races  are  unable  and  unwill- 
ing to  become  absorbed  into  American  citizenship. 
Dr.  Gulick’s  proposal  is  that  the  United  States  agree 
to  the  admission  annually  from  any  country  of  a num- 
ber of  immigrants  equal  to  a fixed  per  cent,  say  five, 


434  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

of  the  living  immigrants  from  that  country  who  have 
become  American  citizens.  He  shows  that  in  prac- 
tical operation  such  a regulation  would  bring  in  very 
few  from  the  yellow  races,  because  there  are  very 
few  American  citizens  of  Chinese  and  Japanese  blood; 
that  it  would  permit  a larger  number  of  English, 
Irish,  Scotch,  and  German  immigrants  than  are  now 
coming  to  our  country,  wdiile  it  would  exercise  a re- 
straining influence  upon  southern  European  immi- 
gration. 

The  present  condition  is  becoming  more  and  more 
intolerable.  Both  statesmanship  and  Christianity 
demand  a change.  While  we  hold,  first,  to  the  right 
of  every  nation  to  preserve  its  own  inherent  qualities, 
by  excluding  from  that  nation  those  who  are  unwilling 
to  adopt  its  language,  its  civilization,  and  its  political 
institutions  and  become  its  citizens,  we  hold,  on  the 
other  side,  that  no  nation  has  the  right  to  set  up  a 
claim  to  exclusive  ownership  of  land  which  God  has 
made  for  all  and  to  shut  out  the  peoples  of  other 
nations  and  races  from  territory  which  is  not  effec- 
tively occupied  by  itself.  The  Indians  had  not  a right 
to  the  permanent  control  of  the  American  continent  by 
a method  of  occupancy  which  permitted  a population 
of  not  more  than  one  to  the  square  mile.  Large  por- 
tions of  Australia,  New  Zealand,  Malaysia,  South 
America,  Mexico,  and  possibly  parts  of  the  United 
States  and  Canada,  are  not  effectively  occupied. 
Some  such  solution  as  that  proposed  by  Dr.  Gulick  is 
essential  for  the  preservation  of  friendly  relations 
between  the  United  States,  upon  the  one  side,  and 
Japan  and  China,  upon  tlie  other  side.  We  shall  try 


CHINA  AND  THE  UNITED  STATES  435 

to  show  in  the  concluding  chapter  that  a Christian 
solution  is  not  only  practicable,  but  that  it  is  the  only 
practicable  solution  of  the  grave  problems  which  will 
confront  the  white  and  the  yellow  races  before  the 
close  of  the  present  century.  As  we  tried  to  portray  in 
the  last  chapter  the  dangers  of  a policy  of  aggression 
upon  the  part  of  Japan,  so  we  have  aimed  in  the  pres- 
ent chapter  to  portra)'-  clearly  the  sinfulness  and  folly 
of  the  present  exclusive  policy  of  the  United  States. 

The  United  States  has  a very  strong  material  inter- 
est in  the  preservation  of  the  integrity  and  independ- 
ence of  the  Chinese  Republic  as  over  against  its 
absorption  by  any  other  nation  or  nations.  The  for- 
eign trade  of  the  United  States  for  1914,  before  it 
was  affected  by  the  war,  amounted  to  $4,258,ooo,cxx) 
of  which  $2,531,000,000  consisted  of  exports  to  for- 
eign lands.  If  this  two  and  a half  billion  dollars  were 
taken  from  the  annual  receipts  of  the  American 
people,  many  American  industries  would  be  para- 
lyzed, many  workmen  out  of  employment,  and  gen- 
eral distress  would  confront  us.  In  a word,  the  main- 
tenance of  our  foreign  trade  is  essential  to  the  con- 
tinuance of  our  prosperity;  the  growth  of  foreign 
trade  is  essential  to  the  growth  of  the  United  States; 
the  United  States  is  no  longer  an  isolated  nation. 

The  possibilities  of  our  Pacific  trade  are  shown  by 
the  growth  of  Japanese  commerce.  In  1868  Japan’s 
foreign  trade  was  $13,123,272,  gold;  in  1888  it  had 
increased  fivefold  and  was  $65,580,382 ; in  1898  it  was 
$221,627,954;  in  1913  it  was  $680,934,729— $15  per 
inhabitant.^'  The  foreign  trade  of  China  probably 


” The  Christian  Movement  in  Japan,  1914,  p.  19. 


436  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

will  make  greater  relative  increase  per  inhabitant 
during  the  next  twenty-five  years  than  that  of  Japan 
made  during  the  last  twenty-five  years.  The  trade  of 
Japan  increased  almost  fourteenfold  from  1888  to 
1913.  If  the  trade  of  China  increases  at  a similar 
rate  during  the  next  twenty-five  years,  it  will  reach 
over  $8,000,000,000  by  1941,  half  of  which  will  con- 
sist of  imports.  But  if  China  is  to  import  $8,000,- 
000,000  worth  of  goods  a year  within  the  next 
quarter  of  a century,  the  importance  of  the  Chinese 
market  to  the  United  States  for  the  maintenance  of 
our  export  trade  can  scarcely  be  overestimated. 
Edward  Maxey,  in  the  Journal  of  Race  Development, 
for  April,  1912,  showed  that  our  exports  to  Japan 
from  1895  to  1905  increased  at  a tenfold  rate  in  the 
ten  years,  while  the  estimate  given  above  assumes 
only  a fourteenfold  increase  in  our  exports  to  China  in 
twenty-five  years.  The  facts  in  regard  to  our  foreign 
trade  with  Japan  show  the  large  possibilities  which 
lie  before  us  in  our  trade  with  China.  The  late  Sir 
Thomas  Jackson,  manager-in-chief  of  the  Hongkong 
and  Shanghai  Banking  Corporation,  said  recently  that 
China  is  at  the  beginning  of  a commercial  develop- 
ment which  in  its  magnitude  cannot  be  estimated. 

Two  other  facts  should  be  borne  in  mind  in  contem- 
plating the  growth  of  America’s  trade  with  China. 
In  1900  China  took  less  than  eight  and  one  half  of  her 
imports  directly  from  the  United  States,  though  she 
took  some  additional  imports  from  us  indirectly  in 
the  form  of  raw  materials  shipped  to  the  United 
Kingdom,  manufactured  and  reshipped  to  China  in 
British  bottoms;  and  in  the  form  of  sales  made  indi- 


CHINA  AND  THE  UNITED  STATES  437 

rectly  to  China  through  Hongkong  and  Kiaochovv. 
The  western  coast  of  the  United  States,  where  we 
may  expect  a great  growth  in  manufacture  during 
the  twentieth  century,  is  nearer  Ja])an  and  China  than 
are  the  United  Kingdom,  Germany,  and  France. 
Again,  the  completion  of  the  Panama  Canal  puts  the 
eastern  shores  of  the  United  States,  where  our  chief 
manufacturing  now  takes  place,  closer  to  Australia, 
New  Zealand,  and  Japan,  and  almost  as  close  to  China 
as  the  western  coast  of  Europe.  No  geological  cause 
will  be  able  to  destroy  the  commercial  advantages 
which  the  United  States  possesses  in  western  South 
America,  in  New  Zealand,  Australia,  and  Japan,  and 
in  some  measure  in  China,  because  the  building  of 
no  other  canal  will  ever  change  the  channel  of 
trade  which  the  Panama  Canal  is  establishing  be- 
tween the  East  and  the  West.  The  building  of  an- 
other canal  across  Nicaragua  would  open  a second 
gateway,  thus  enhancing  our  advantages  for  trade  in 
the  Pacific  Basin.  If  the  United  States  adopts  a ship- 
ping policy  which  puts  American  vessels  upon  a par 
as  to  the  cost  of  building,  of  operation  and  as  to  gov- 
ernment support  with  European  vessels,  then  she 
ought  not  simply  to  maintain  the  eight  and  one  half 
per  cent  of  this  trade  which  she  holds  at  present,  but 
to  capture  twenty  to  thirty  per  cent  of  the  trade  of  the 
Pacific  Basin.  Mr.  John  Barrett,  in  1904.  summed  up 
the  possibilities  of  the  Far  Eastern  trade  in  the  follow- 
ing sentence.  “The  foreign  trade  of  the  coast  line  in 
the  Far  East  from  Singapore  to  Vladivostock  is  one 
billion  dollars  per  year,  and  it  is  only  in  its  infancy. 
The  foreign  trade  of  Australia  and  Oceanica  meas- 


438  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

ures  another  billion  dollars  per  year,  and  of  the 
Dutch  East  Indies  a quarter  of  a billion  more.” 
Hence,  with  the  immense  increase  of  foreign  com- 
merce through  the  industrial  development  of  the  west- 
ern coast  of  the  United  States,  including  Alaska,  of 
western  Canada,  and  South  America,  of  Japan,  China, 
and  of  Malaysia,  the  United  States  has  almost  as 
great  possibilities  for  industrial  and  commercial  de- 
velopment in  the  twentieth  century  as  the  opening  up 
of  our  natural  resources  gave  us  in  the  nineteenth 
century. 

But  still  another  fact  must  be  borne  in  mind  before 
we  form  our  final  estimate.  Benjamin  Kidd^®  has 
compiled  statistics  which,  while  showing  an  increas- 
ing commerce  along  the  lines  running  from  east  to 
west,  reveal  a very  much  greater  increase  of  com- 
merce between  the  tropical  and  temperate  zones,  along 
lines  running  from  north  to  south.  Mr.  Kidd  main- 
tains that  while  the  commerce  between  the  United 
States  and  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States  and 
France  is  greater  to-day  than  at  any  period  in  past 
history,  yet  that  we  may  anticipate  a time  when  the 
rate  of  increase  in  commerce  between  these  Western 
nations  may  slacken  and  when  the  commerce  between 
them  may  even  decrease,  because  these  nations  are 
upon  the  same  parallels  of  latitude  and  are  reaching 
substantially  the  same  stage  of  civilization,  and  are 
able  to  duplicate  in  their  own  countries  each  other’s 
products.  However,  owing  to  different  tastes  and 
styles  and  to  a desire  of  people  for  foreign  goods,  he 
does  not  anticipate  a decrease  in  the  commerce  along 


>*  The  Control  of  the  Tropics. 


CHINA  AND  THE  UNITED  STATES  439 

the  lines  running  from  east  to  west.  But  Mr.  Kidd 
points  out  the  fact  that  there  is  certain  to  be  a large 
increase  in  the  commerce  along  the  lines  running 
north  and  south  because  the  differences  in  climate 
make  it  possible  for  each  section  to  produce  many 
kinds  of  goods  which  cannot  be  produced  in  the  other 
section.  Hence  he  points  out  the  fact  that  whatever 
may  be  the  future  of  trade  between  the  East  and  the 
West,  trade  between  the  North  and  South  must  in- 
crease indefinitely  as  the  years  go  by. 

It  may  be  said  that  as  soon  as  she  is  able  China  will 
impose  an  import  tax  on  all  foreign  goods,  and  that 
we  may  have  to  pay  as  much  import  tax  to  the  Chinese 
government  as  we  would  pay  to  the  Japanese  and 
Russians  and  Germans  and  French,  were  China  di- 
vided among  them;  that  Great  Britain  is  the  only 
country  which  grants  us  free  trade  with  her  colon- 
ists, and  that  we  may  expect  Great  Britain  to  follow 
in  the  footsteps  of  the  other  nations  and  attempt  to 
make  a trade  league  between  herself  and  her  colonies, 
instead  of  the  other  nations  following  in  the  footsteps 
of  Great  Britain  and  throwing  their  colonies  open  for 
the  commerce  of  the  world.  As  the  United  States  has 
led  in  tariff  legislation,  she  is  the  last  nation  which 
can  complain  if  other  nations  follow  in  her  footsteps. 
But  there  is  a marked  difference  between  China  estab- 
lishing a tariff,  and  Japan  or  Russia  establishing  a 
tariff"  over  a portion  of  China.  However  high  the 
Chinese  tariff  may  become,  it  will  apply  to  all  foreign 
nations  alike.  It  will  not,  therefore,  prove  a barrier 
to  American  trade  with  China  any  more  than  to 
Japanese,  Russian,  or  German  trade  with  China. 


440  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


Hence  a tariff  established  by  China  herself  equally 
applying  to  all  nations  alike  will  not  shut  the  door  to 
America  any  more  than  to  any  other  country.  But  if 
China  should  be  divided  between  nations,  each  nation 
would  establish  free  trade  within  its  colonies  and  then 
charge  a tariff  upon  the  goods  of  other  nations,  and 
the  trade  of  the  United  States  with  China  would  be 
destroyed.  What  the  United  States  asks  is,  not  any 
artificial  advantages  over  other  foreign  nations  trad- 
ing with  China,  but  equal  opportunities  for  all.  She 
protests  against  this  great  population  with  its 
immense  possibilities  for  foreign  trade  falling  under 
the  political  control  of  any  nation ; for  with  the  polit- 
ical control  of  China  once  assured,  the  conquering 
nation  would  inevitably  monopolize  China’s  trade  for 
herself.  Indeed,  the  interest  of  the  United  States  in 
this  matter  is  identical  with  the  interest  of  every  other 
foreign  nation  on  earth,  except  such  foreign  nation 
as  proposes  to  seize  a portion  or  all  of  China  for  her 
own  benefit  and  exploit  China’s  trade  for  her  own 
enrichment. 

Another  fact  must  be  borne  in  mind,  namely,  that 
the  United  States  has  developed  a consistent  foreign 
policy,  and  for  half  a century  has  pursued  a policy  in 
the  Pacific  quite  as  definite  as  that  embodied  in  our 
Monroe  doctrine.  Anson  Burlingame,  in  1868,  made 
the  treaty  between  the  United  States  and  China  which 
admitted  her  into  the  family  of  nations — a treaty  so 
just  and  expressed  in  such  felicitous  language  that 
it  has  served  as  a model  for  all  subsequent  treaties  of 
Western  nations  with  China.  This  treaty  inaugu- 
rated the  policy  of  recognizing  China  as  an  equal 


CHINA  AND  THE  UNITED  STATES  441 


among  all  nations  of  the  world  and  also  of  securing 
her  acceptance  of  Western  international  law.  It  also 
inaugurated  the  policy  of  respecting  her  integrity 
upon  the  one  side,  and  claiming  equal  rights  of  trade 
with  her  by  all  nations  of  the  earth  upon  the  other 
side.  It  was  the  influence  of  this  treaty  upon  the 
public  sentiment  of  the  civilized  world  and  the  deter- 
mination of  Japan,  of  the  United  States  and  other 
W^estern  Powers  to  stand  for  these  principles,  which 
enabled  Secretary  Hay  to  secure  another  treaty, 
signed  by  every  leading  nation  in  1900,  pledging  all 
to  respect  the  integrity  and  independence  of  the 
Chinese  empire,  and  to  claim  no  rights  of  trade  which 
were  not  freely  conceded  to  others.  This  is  the  open 
door  policy  for  China. 

The  Alaska  Purchase  gives  us  a line  of  islands  with 
open  ports  free  from  ice  during  the  winter,  some  of 
them  sufiicient  in  size  for  the  largest  navy  of  the 
world,  all  the  way  from  the  United  States  to  within 
seven  hundred  and  fifty  miles  of  Asia.  Harold 
Bolce^®  says  that  Attu,  the  most  westerly  island  of 
the  Aleutian  group,  is  fifty  miles  long,  and  that  it  has 
a fine  harbor  within  seven  hundred  and  fifty  miles  of 
Kamchatka;  in  Yukon  Island  is  a harbor  two  miles 
long  and  three  quarters  of  a mile  wide.  Dutch 
Harbor,  Water  Falls,  Constantine  Bay,  Lost  Harbor, 
Baldir  Bay,  and  Glory  of  Russia  are  splendid  harbors  v 
extending  from  Norton  Sound,  Alaska,  to  Attu 
Island,  many  of  them  large  and  deep  enough  to  hold 
half  a dozen  fleets  at  a time.  Moreover,  the  distance 
from  San  Francisco  to  Tokyo  is  two  hundred  and 


In  the  Booklovers’  Magazine.  March  to  June.  1904. 


442  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


forty-three  miles  shorter  by  this  northern  route  along 
the  Aleutian  Islands  than  by  what  appears  upon  the 
maps  to  be  a straight  course  from  San  Francisco  to 
Tokyo.  These  fine  harbors  in  a climate  rendered  mild 
the  year  round  by  the  Japanese  or  Black  Current, 
along  the  shortest  route  to  Asia,  constitute  a national 
asset  of  incalculable  value  to  the  United  States  for  the 
exercise  of  large  commercial  influence  in  the  Pacific 
Basin.  The  development  of  these  harbors  will  prove 
one  of  the  most  important  enterprises  of  the  United 
States  during  the  twentieth  century.  Trade  between 
the  Western  world  and  Asia  made  Venice,  Spain,  and 
the  United  Kingdom.  Under  modern  conditions  it  will 
make  great  Japan  or  Russia  or  the  United  States: 
and  possibly  it  will  make  all  of  them  great  during  the 
twentieth  century. 

We  secured  Hawaii  in  order  that  the  key  to  the 
Pacific  might  rest  in  our  possession.  The  Philippines 
almost  providentially  fell  into  our  lap  when  we  little 
realized  their  significance  in  enabling  us  to  play  our 
proper  part  in  shaping  the  commerce  and  civilization 
of  the  Pacific  Basin.  Finally,  the  Panama  Canal,  now 
completed,  places  even  the  eastern  coast  of  the 
United  States  nearer  to  Japan  and  almost  as  near  to 
China  as  Liverpool,  London,  or  Hamburg.  Surely, 
after  having  developed  a policy  for  the  Pacific  Basin 
for  half  a century,  and  especially  after  all  that  Al- 
mighty God  has  done  for  the  United  States,  Amer- 
icans are  not  prepared  to  sit  idly  by  and  see  the  open 
door  in  the  Far  East  shut  in  their  faces. 

Thus  far  we  have  confined  ourselves  to  the  low 
plane  of  material  interests  and  have  tried  to  show 


CHINA  AND  THE  UNITED  STATES  443 


that  economic  considerations  will  simply  compel  the 
United  States  eventually  to  maintain  the  open  door  in 
China. 

Advancing  now  to  the  higher  plane  of  political  and 
intellectual  and  moral  interests,  the  Pacific  Basin  will 
be  one  great  theater  of  human  events  for  all  the  cen- 
turies to  come.  Civilization  has  advanced  westward 
from  the  Nile,  the  Tigris,  and  the  Euphrates  to  the 
Mediterranean,  thence  to  the  Atlantic,  and  it  is  now 
advancing  to  the  Pacific.  In  the  gathering  of  the 
nations  around  the  Pacific  Basin,  the  United  States 
is  not  called  upon  to  engage  in  any  selfish  or  warlike 
attempt  to  overthrow  the  sovereignty,  the  language, 
or  the  civilization  of  any  other  nation;  least  of  all  is 
America  called  upon  to  attempt  to  transform  by  force 
the  civilization  of  China.  All  the  nations  of  the  world 
are  beginning  to  learn  the  better  way  of  service  and 
the  eternal  gain  of  moral  influence  as  over  against 
mere  external  force. 

Lavelaye,  the  noted  French  writer,  says,  “A  hun- 
dred years  hence,  leaving  China  out  of  the  question, 
there  will  be  two  colossal  powers  in  the  world,  beside 
which  Germany,  England,  France,  and  Italy  will  be 
pigmies:  the  United  States  and  Russia.”  It  is  no 
wiser  to  speculate  upon  the  great  Powers  around  the 
Pacific  Basin  a hundred  years  hence  and  leave  China 
out  of  the  reckoning  than  to  write  a treatise  on  oceans 
and  leave  the  Pacific  Ocean  out  of  the  account.  If  the 
Chinese  and  the  Americans  preserve  their  moral 
soundness,  we  venture  the  prophecy  that  in  the 
twenty-first  century  the  two  peoples  which  will  loom 
largest  on  the  globe  will  be  the  Chinese  and  the  Amer- 


444  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


icans — or,  perhaps  better,  the  Chinese  and  the  Anglo- 
Saxons.  Whatever  course  human  history  takes, 
therefore,  China  will  bulk  large  in  the  coining  cen- 
turies. If  the  United  States  follows  a statesmanlike, 
just,  and  Christian  policy,  she  too  will  bulk  large  in 
the  coming  centuries,  and  despite  her  lesser  numbers 
she  may  possibly  bulk  even  larger  than  China  in  the 
moral  leadership  of  the  race.  Moreover,  if  Russia 
fills  up  her  large  areas  of  tillable  land,  and  if  the  Rus- 
sians make  the  advance  in  political  institutions  and 
Christian  civilization  which  we  all  hope  and  pray  for, 
then,  with  Canada  and  the  United  States  and  such 
white  populations  as  may  be  in  South  America  on  the 
east,  and  with  the  Russians  upon  the  west,  and  with 
such  moral  influence  as  Great  Britain  and  the  Nether- 
lands and  France  may  exercise  in  Malaysia,  the  influ- 
ence of  the  white  race  and  of  Christian  civilization 
around  the  Pacific  Basin  may  be  maintained.  On  the 
other  hand,  with  the  rapid  advance  which  the  Jap- 
anese, the  Chinese,  and  the  people  of  India  are  now 
making,  the  influence  of  the  yellow  races  in  the  Pacific 
Basin  is  certain  to  increase.  In  a word,  the  influence 
of  each  race  and  each  civilization  will  last  so  long  as 
it  deserves  to  last.  The  influence  of  the  white  races 
will  pale  before  the  influence  of  the  yellow  races  if  the 
latter  surpass  us  in  intellectual  and  moral  power.  If 
we  read  aright  the  principles  of  evolution  or  the 
unfolding  moral  and  spiritual  history  of  the  race,  or 
the  teachings  of  the  New  Testament,  Christ  is  set 
for  the  rise  and  fall  of  nations.  If  the  Christian  forces 
of  the  world  respond  to  the  divine  summons,  and 
Christianity  takes  deep  root  and  spreads  widely 


CHINA  AND  THE  UNITED  STATES  445 


and  rapidly  around  the  Pacific,  we  may  be  sure  that 
all  will  recognize  that  each  race  and  nation  has  its 
])rovidential  work.  In  that  event  we  shall  approach 
the  era 

“When  each  one  shall  find  his  own  in  every  other’s  good, 
And  all  men  join  in  a common  brotherhood.” 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

CHINA  AND  THE  WORLD:  CONCLUSION 

A POLICY  rapidly  taking  shape  among  the  white 
races  of  the  world  excludes  the  yellow  races  from  five 
of  the  six  continents  and  from  a portion  of  the  sixth. 
Since  1848  Portugal  has  annexed  approximately 
800,000  square  miles  of  territory,  Belgium,  900,000; 
Germany  and  Russia  each  1,200,000;  the  United 
States,  1,800,000;  France,  3,200,000;  Great  Britain, 
3,600,000;  and  other  white  nations  approximately 
500,000,  thus  making  1 3,200,000  square  miles  of  terri- 
tory directly  annexed  by  white  races  during  the  last 
seventy  years,  an  area  three  and  one  half  times  the 
size  of  Europe.^  The  tendency  at  present  is  to  exclude 
the  Asiatic  races  from  Europe,  Africa,  North  Amer- 
ica, South  America,  Australia,  and  from  Russian 
holdings  in  Asia,  and  to  confine  them  to  the  southern 
portion  of  this  last  continent.  The  exclusion  policy 
extends  not  only  to  the  Chinese  and  Japanese  and 
Malays,  but  to  the  people  of  India,  a portion  of  whom, 
being  of  Aryan  stock,  are  cousins  to  the  higher 
branches  of  the  white  race.  If  the  proposed  aggres- 
sion of  Japan  upon  China  and  the  exclusion  policy  of 
the  United  States  called  for  extended  comment,  surely 
this  denial  by  the  white  races  of  equal  opportunities 
to  their  colored  brethren  demands  our  most  serious 
consideration. 

* Grosvenor,  Edwin  A.:  Contemporary  History,  pp.  142-48. 

446 


CHINA  AND  THE  WORLD 


447 


It  will  contribute  further  to  the  peace  of  nations  if 
the  white  races  do  not  attempt  to  formulate  too  speedily 
a final  policy  as  to  the  occupation  of  the  globe,  and  if 
they  do  not  resort  to  arms  to  exclude  the  yellow  races 
from  undeveloped  portions  of  the  globe.  For  the 
white  races,  numbering  fifty-one  per  cent  of  the  whole 
human  race,  to  assume  control  over  five  continents 
and  a considerable  portion  of  the  sixth,  and  to  limit 
the  yellow  races,  numbering  thirty-six  per  cent  of 
the  whole,  to  a portion  of  a single  continent,  is  neither 
Christian  nor  statesmanlike."  The  following  facts 
bring  us  face  to  face  with  perhaps  the  most  serious 
problem  which  confronts  the  white  races. 

I.  Increase  of  Population  in  China.  So  great 
is  Chinese  virility  that  the  population  of  China 
doubles  substantially  within  eighty  years,  whereas  the 
population  of  Europe  doubles  substantially  in  a cen- 
tury. C.  H.  Pearson  thinks  that  under  favorable  con- 
ditions China  will  double  her  population  within  sixty 
years.  In  case  peace  is  preserved,  the  conditions  seem 
favorable  for  a large  increase  of  China’s  population 
at  home.  Archibald  Little  writes:  “Nothing  but  the 
want  of  roads  and  civilized  means  of  intercommunica- 
tion prevents  the  development  of  the  mineral  resources 
of  Shansi  and  competition  in  the  world’s  markets  with 
the  iron  of  Britain  and  America.  . . . Shansi’s 

coal  measures  spread  over  twenty-five  degrees  of  meri- 
dian— from  the  western  desert  right  across  the 
province  and  thence  round,  in  the  extension  of  its 
mountains  to  the  north  of  the  Chihli  plain,  to  the  sea- 
coast,  and  again  rounding  the  Chihli  Gulf  into  Man- 


2 Encyclopaedia  Britannica,  vol.  xi,  p.  635,  d. 


448  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


chiiria.  These  coal  and  iron  strata  are  said  to  belong 
to  the  old  carboniferous  formations;  the  deposits  are 
inexhaustible;  the  coal  seams  reach  as  large  as  forty 
feet  in  thickness,  and  lie  mostly  undisturbed  and  are 
easily  worked,  resting  as  they  do  on  a horizontal  lime- 
stone foundation  and  at  an  altitude  of  some  three 
thousand  feet  above  sea  level : hence  the  coal  and  iron 
of  Shansi  are  in  a position  to  be  forwarded  for  con- 
sumption to  the  populous  wood-bare  plains  to  the 
south  and  east  and  to  the  coast  for  export  almost  by 
their  own  gravity,  as  soon  as  the  needful  railroads  are 
constructed.”  ® Little’s  small,  imperfect,  but  valuable 
map  of  the  coal  deposits  shows,  in  all,  fifty-six  coal 
regions  of  varying  dimensions  in  China. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  Baron  Richthofen  spent 
some  years  in  China  and  prepared  a report,  chiefly 
upon  her  coal  and  iron  resources,  which  startled  Ger- 
many and  the  civilized  world.  Baron  Richthofen 
pronounced  the  coal  and  iron  resources  of  China  the 
greatest  of  any  nation  upon  the  earth.  Coal  had  been 
found  in  almost  every  province,  and  immense  beds  of 
anthracite  and  bituminous  coal  had  been  discovered, 
separated  by  only  slight  ridges.  Alongside  of  these 
coal  deposits,  especially  in  Shansi  and  Shensi  and 
Anhwei,  are  large  deposits  of  excellent  iron  ore;  and 
in  many  cases,  on  account  of  the  elevation  of  the 
mountains  after  the.se  deposits  had  been  laid  down,  the 
coal  is  taken  out  by  horizontal  shafts  instead  of  by 
perpendicular  shafts.  Baron  Richthofen  says,  “From 
this  description  it  will  be  seen  that  Shansi  is  one  of 
the  most  remarkable  coal  and  iron  regions  in  the 


’ The  Far  East,  pp.  30,  31. 


CHINA  AND  THE  WORT.D 


449 


world : and  some  of  the  details  which  T will  give  will 
make  it  patent  that  the  world  at  the  j)resent  rate  of 
consumption  could  be  supplied  for  thousands  of  years 
from  Shansi  alone.”  * Mr.  Bailey,  an  American  geol- 
ogist, recognizes  the  correctness  of  Baron  Richt- 
hofen’s measurements,  but  thinks  the  depth  of  the 
coal  seams  where  Richthofen  examined  them,  namely, 
five  hundred  feet,  may  be  due  to  folding  in  those 
particular  spots,  and  that  this  depth  probably  does  not 
extend  throughout  the  entire  field.  But  while  fuller 
examination  is  demanded,  yet  Richthofen’s  statement 
as  to  the  depth  of  the  seams  referred  to  only  one  field, 
whereas  his  investigations  showed  that  coal  is  found 
in  at  least  fifteen  provinces,  and  his  estimates  were 
based  upon  his  judgment  of  the  entire  country  and 
not  of  one  particular  field.  The  secretary  of  the  Bitu- 
minous Coal  Trade  Association  of  the  United  States 
estimates  the  world’s  supply  of  coal  outside  the  United 
States  and  China  at  five  hundred  and  seventy-three 
billion  tons,  while  naming  three  trillion  tons  as  the 
supply  of  the  United  States,  and  one  trillion  five  hun- 
dred billion  tons  as  the  supply  of  China.'^  This  esti- 
mate, plainly  incomplete  for  China,  yet  gives  her 
nearly  three  times  the  supply  of  the  rest  of  the  world 
outside  of  the  United  States.  Again,  Baron  Richt- 
hofen estimates  the  coal  area  for  China  at  419,000 
square  miles  as  compared  with  310,000  square  miles 
in  the  United  States.  Sufficient  investigation  has 
been  made  to  justify  experts  in  accepting  232,000 

♦ Richthofen,  Baron  Ferdinand  von:  Letters  to  the  Shanghai  Chamber  of 
Commerce  in  1870-72,  second  edition,  1903,  p.  43. 

® Quoted  in  The  World  Almanac,  1915,  p-  257,  from  secretary  of  Bituminous 
Coal  Trade  Association  of  the  United  States. 


450  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

square  miles  in  China  as  underlaid  by  coal.  No  doubt 
fuller  investigation  will  reveal  larger  areas  of  coal  in 
China  in  regions  not  yet  covered  by  surveys;  and 
scientists  most  familiar  with  China  believe  that  there 
will  be  found  here  a considerable  addition  to  the  coal 
and  iron  supplies  already  reported. 

Another  factor  must  be  added  to  the  immense  sup- 
plies of  coal  and  iron  ore  in  China  in  attempting  to 
forecast  her  future,  namely,  China  has  now  the  larg- 
est and,  upon  the  whole,  the  best  supply  of  labor  found 
on  the  face  of  the  earth;  and  the  Chinese  means  of 
living  enables  them  to  supply  labor  at  lower  cost  than 
any  other  nation  on  earth.  On  May  14,  1913,  Mr. 
Farrell,  President  of  the  United  States  Steel  Com- 
pany, testified  before  a commission  of  Congress  that. 
Chinese  pig  iron  could  be  landed  at  San  Francisco  and 
sold  at  $10.78  per  ton,  whereas  the  price  of  American 
pig  iron  at  San  Francisco  was  at  that  time  $21  per 
ton.  The  Shanghai  Times  of  July  7,  1911,  reported 
Sir  Moreton  Frewen,  M.  P.,  as  writing,  after  a visit 
to  Hankow,  to  the  British  Review  of  Reviews,  that 
Chinese  rails  turned  out  by  the  Hanyang  Iron  Works 
were  quite  equal  to  American  rails,  that  one  hundred 
and  ten  Chinese  workmen  at  Hanyang  can  turn  out 
as  much  iron  a day  as  one  hundred  Pittsburgh  iron- 
workers, that  the  wages  of  the  Pittsburgh  work- 
men are  fifteen  times  as  large  as  the  wages  of  the 
Hanyang  workers,  and  that  with  some  changes,  which 
could  easily  be  introduced  into  the  Hanyang  works, 
the  Chinese  company  can  produce  pig  iron  at  12s. — 
$3,  gold — per  ton. 

Dr.  Ernst  Faber,  a conservative,  well-balanced 


Yuan  Shih  Kai 

(See  Chapter  XV) 


CHINA  AND  THE  WORLD 


451 


German  missionary,  after  many  years  in  China  made 
the  prediction  that  the  eighteen  pro\dnces  of  China 
alone  would  sustain  double  China’s  present  popula- 
tion by  the  close  of  the  twentieth  century.  Dr.  Faber 
based  this  estimate  upon  the  increase  of  population  in 
Belgium,  Holland,  England,  and  Germany  when  they 
passed  from  hand  manufacturing  to  machine  manu- 
facturing and  upon  the  fact  that  China  will  make  that 
transition  during  the  twentieth  century.  Japan  en- 
tered upon  this  era  nearly  half  a century  ago,  and  her 
population  is  doubling  in  sixty  years.  Who  doubts 
that  from  similar  causes  China  will  experience  a sim- 
ilar increase  of  population  in  the  twentieth  century? 

2.  Increase  of  the  Chinese  in  the  North  and 
West.  In  estimating  the  future  of  the  Chinese  an- 
other fact  must  be  borne  in  mind.  Manchuria  and 
Inner  Mongolia  on  the  northern,  and  Turkestan  on 
the  western  borders  of  China,  will  sustain  very  con- 
siderable increases  of  population,  and  there  will  be  a 
large  increase  of  Chinese  in  these  regions  before  the 
close  of  the  present  century.  Von  Schierbrand  esti- 
mates an  increase  in  ^Manchuria  alone  of  over  100,- 
000,000  people  f our  estimate  is  60,000,000.  Pear- 
son estimates  an  increase  of  75,000,000,  mostly 
Chinese,  in  Turkestan;^  our  estimate  is  much  lower, 
but  Curtis’s  recent  volume  on  Turkestan®  shows  that 
we  may  anticipate  a considerable  overflow  of  Chinese 
into  these  regions  during  the  twentieth  century. 
Russia  built  the  Trans-Siberian  Railway  not  only  for 
military  purposes  but  also  for  industrial  purposes. 


‘Schierbrand,  Wolf  Von:  America,  Asia,  and  the  Pacific,  p.  283. 
^ Pearson,  C.  H.:  National  Life  and  Character,  p.  46. 

* Curtis,  William  E. : Turkestan,  the  Heart  of  Asia. 


452  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

She  believed  that  this  railway  would  furnish  a line 
over  which  emigration  would  flow  from  European 
Russia  to  Siberia,  Mongolia,  and  Manchuria,  The 
railway  is  starting  a double  stream — one  of  emigra- 
tion from  European  Russia  and  one  of  immigra- 
tion, for  the  Chinese  are  flowing  westward  while  the 
Russians  are  flowing  eastward.  Whatever  govern- 
ment prevails  in  Siberia,  Mongolia,  and  Manchuria, 
population  must  be  desired  as  the  one  factor  which 
can  give  value  to  these  lands.  And  unless  Chinese 
immigration  is  checked,  there  will  be  a large  overflow 
of  Chinese  population  into  Manchuria,  and  even 
Siberia,  within  the  next  one  hundred  years, 

3.  Increase  of  the  Chinese  in  Malaysia. 
North  America,  South  America,  Africa,  and  the 
Malay  Archipelago  in  Asia  are  the  unfilled  regions  of 
the  globe  capable  of  sustaining  large  increases  of  popu- 
lation. While  Africa  will  sustain  a much  larger  popu- 
lation than  she  now  has,  probably  her  increase  will  not 
rank  with  that  of  South  America  or  Malaysia.  The 
area  of  land  in  the  Malay  Archipelago  is  1,002,267 
square  miles,  and  the  population  is  44,067,000.®  Al- 
fred Russel  Wallace  writes : “The  Malay  Archipelago 
extends  for  more  than  4,000  miles  from  east  to  west, 
and  is  about  1,300  miles  in  breadth  from  north  to 
south.  It  includes  three  islands  larger  than  Great 
Britain  and  in  one  of  them  the  whole  of  the  British 
Isles  might  be  set  down  and  they  would  be  surrounded  | 
by  a sea  of  forests.”  “As  a whole  the  Malay  Archi-  j 
pelago  is  comparable  with  the  primary  divisions  of  the  l 


• Encyclopaedia  Britannica,  vol.  xvii,  p.  466,  b. 
Malay  Archipelago,  vol.  i.  pp.  2,  4. 


CHINA  AND  THE  WORLD 


453 


globe.”  ” The  great  rainfall,  the  high  temperature, 
and  the  rich  soil  combine  to  make  the  Archipelago  as 
a whole  extremely  fertile.’”  Indeed,  Macmillan 
Brown’^  speaks  of  billows  of  vegetation  and  forests 
rolling  over  the  islands,  making  it  almost  impossible 
for  civilized  men  to  get  a foothold  unless  they  come  in 
sufficient  numbers  to  uproot  the  wild  forests,  keep 
them  uprooted,  and  turn  the  land  to  fruitful  purposes. 
Hence,  Java  is  the  only  island  of  the  entire  group 
which  human  culture  thus  far  has  subdued. 

W'allace  speaks  of  the  dry  climate  and  arid  soil  of 
Bali  and  Temor  and  the  eastern  end  of  Java  and  adds, 
“The  island  of  Java  contains  more  volcanoes,  active 
and  extinct,  than  any  other  known  district  of  equal 
extent.”  “ Hence  the  proportion  of  arable  land  and 
the  rainfall  in  most  of  the  islands  exceed  those  of  Java ; 
the  soil  of  the  islands  is  generally  fertile,  therefore  the 
entire  region  seems  capable  of  sustaining  a population 
as  dense  as  that  of  Java.  But  Java  has  a population 
of  5/0  to  the  square  mile.  At  this  rate,  the  entire 
Archipelago  with  its  million  square  miles  of  territory 
would  sustain  a population  of  570,000,000  people. 
Indeed,  Dr.  W.  F.  Oldham,  who  has  traveled  through 
the  Archipelago  perhaps  as  widely  as  any  other  Amer- 
ican, in  public  addresses  upon  Malaysia  estimates  that 
it  is  capable  of  sustaining  a population  of  600,000,- 
000  people;  and  Macmillan  Brown,  speaking  of 
Malaysia  as  a whole  says,  “These  rich  regions  might 
easily  support  the  whole  population  of  the  world.” 

Wallace,  Alfred  Russel:  The  Malay  Archipelago,  vol.  i,  pp.  2-4. 

Ibid.,  vol.  i,  p.  24.  “ The  Dutch  East,  p.  136. 

Wallace,  Alfred  Russel:  The  Malay  Archipelago,  vol.  i,  p.  8. 

The  Dutch  East,  p.  188. 


454  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

If  the  rest  of  Malaysia  is  capable  of  sustaining  a 
population  at  all  equal  to  that  of  Java,  the  question 
naturally  arises  as  to  why  two  thirds  of  the  popula- 
tion now  in  the  Archipelago  is  confined  to  this  one 
island,  which  has  only  one  nineteenth  of  the  area  of 
the  whole.  Macmillan  Brown  explains  the  popula- 
tion of  Java  as  due  largely  to  the  Dutch  government, 
under  which  life  and  property  have  been  safe  for  some 
two  hundred  years.  “All  acknowledge  the  excellence 
of  the  Dutch  rule  in  Java.  . . . The  increase  of  the 
native  population  under  it  from  2,000,000  two  cen- 
turies ago  to  30,000,000  in  the  twentieth  century  is 
« clear  enough  proof.”  But  all  the  islands  of  the 
Archipelago  are  now  under  American,  British,  Dutch, 
Erench  or  German  rule.  Moreover,  the  health  meas- 
ures which  have  been  successfully  inaugurated  by  the 
United  States  in  Panama  and  in  the  Philippine  Islands 
show  that  the  tropics  can  be  made  habitable  even  for 
the  white  man,  and  comparatively  healthy  for  races 
accustomed  to  a greater  heat  than  are  the  white  races. 

In  view  of  these  statements,  it  seems  entirely  safe 
to  assume  that  in  Malaysia  there  is  room  for  the  over- 
flow of  the  Chinese  and  Japanese  for  the  twentieth 
century,  even  though  these  two  races  should  double 
their  populations  within  that  period.  Moreover,  the 
Chinese  at  least  are  rapidly  pouring  over  their  borders 
into  Malaysia;  and  the  Chinese  who  go  to  these  lands 
are  meeting  with  such  success  and  are  sending  such 
streams  of  gold  back  to  the  mother  country  that 
the  people  of  China  are  destined  to  overflow  into 
Malaysia  during  the  twentieth  century  as  the  people 


The  Dutch  East,  p.  17. 


CHINA  AND  THE  WORLD 


455 


of  Europe  have  overflowed  into  North  America  dur- 
ing the  last  two  centuries.  Macmillan  Brown  says, 
“There  are  1,500,000  Chinese  and  300,000  Arabs  in 
Netherlands  India,  and  these  are  the  overlords  of  the 
land;  and  the  Chinese  are  superior  to  the  Arab 
traders.”  Singapore  is  receiving  200,000  Chinese 
per  year,  according  to  the  latest  reports  of  Dr.  W.  F. 
Oldham.  “Throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of 
Malaysia,”  says  Dr.  Francis  H.  H.  Guillemard,  “the 
Chinese  has  made  his  way.” 

Wherever  the  Chinese  come  in  contact  with  the 
Malays  they  either  develop  them  or  supplant  them. 
The  same  phenomenon  is  taking  place  in  the  Malay 
Archipelago  in  the  twentieth  century  which  took  place 
in  America  in  the  eighteenth  and  nineteenth  centuries ; 
and  under  whatever  government  the  future  inhabit- 
ants of  Malaysia  may  live,  the}'^  will  be  Chinese  in 
their  commerce,  social  life,  civilization,  and  in  their 
influence  upon  their  neighbors.  Mr.  Pearson  says; 
“So  great  a people  as  the  Chinese,  and  possessed  with 
such  enormous  material  resources,  will  sooner  or  later 
overflow  and  spread  over  new  territory  and  submerge 
weaker  races.  . . . With  civilization  equally  dif- 

fused, the  most  populous  country  must  ultimately  be 
the  most  powerful;  and  in  the  Pacific  Basin  the  pre- 
ponderance of  China  over  any  rival — even  over  the 
United  States  of  America — is  likely  to  be  overwhelm- 
ing.” Mr.  Pearson  shows  throughout  his  volume 
the  pessimism  which  possibly  came  through  failing 
health.  We  do  not  for  a moment  share  the  dark  fore- 


Ibid.,  p.  155. 

GuiUemard,  Francis  H.  H.;  The  Cruise  of  the  Marchesa,  vol.  ii,  p.  126. 
Pearson.  C.  H.:  National  Life  and  Character,  p.  54. 


456  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

bodings  for  the  white  race  which  his  volume  as  a 
whole  expresses.  Instead  of  believing  that  the  Aryan 
race  and  modern  science  and  Christian  civilization 
are  exhausted,  we  hold  that  we  are  on  the  threshold 
of  undreamed-of  possibilities.  But  the  large  antici- 
pation of  China  formed  by  a writer  whose  general 
view  of  the  future  of  the  race  is  as  pessimistic  as  Mr. 
Pearson’s  is  a very  significant  fact.  We  do  not  antici- 
pate so  large  a growth  of  population  in  Malaysia  dur- 
ing the  twentieth  century  as  the  advance  from  44,- 
000,000  now  there  to  the  570,000,000,  because,  while 
the  Chinese  are  multiplying  rapidly,  they  are  also 
advancing  their  standard  of  living;  and  such  an 
advance  usually  is  followed  by  a decreasing  birth 
rate.  But  after  the  twentieth  century  comes  the 
twenty-first  century ; and  science,  and  especially 
American  experience  at  Panama,  demonstrates  that 
the  tropics  are  easily  habitable  by  yellow  races.  It 
seems  safe,  therefore,  to  anticipate  a population  of 
some  300,000,000,  partly  Chinese  in  blood  and  almost 
wholly  Chinese  in  culture,  in  Malaysia  by  the  begin- 
ning or  middle  of  the  twenty-first  century. 

Considering  the  growth  of  population  which  has 
been  taking  place  in  China  for  centuries  through  the 
virility  of  the  race,  the  prospective  large  overflow  of 
population  into  Malaysia  in  the  twentieth  century, 
similar  to  the  overflow  of  European  population  into 
North  America  during  the  nineteenth  century,  the 
expansion  of  her  population  now  taking  place  in  her 
northern  and  western  territory,  the  great  increase  of 
l^opulation  within  the  eighteen  provinces  during  the 
twentieth  century  through  the  introduction  of  modern 


CHINA  AND  THE  WORLD 


457 


machinery  and  the  transformation  of  her  industries 
from  the  stage  of  hand  labor  to  that  of  machine  labor, 
it  is  probable  that  the  population  of  China  and  Japan 
will  reach  8cx), 000,000  to  1,000,000,000  souls  by  the 
year  A.  D.  2000.  India  has  trebled  her  population 
since  British  occupation;  she  now  has  300,000,000 
yellow  people  to  add  to  the  Chinese-Japanese  popula- 
tion; and  with  the  introduction  of  modern  machinery 
she  may  have  a population  of  500,000,000  to  add  to 
the  yellow  races  by  the  year  A.  D.  2000.  With  a de- 
creasing population  among  some  of  the  white  nations 
and  a decreasing  rate  of  growth  in  population  among 
them  all,  and  with  the  decimation  of  Europe  through 
the  present  war,  the  yellow  races  will  rapidly  approach 
the  white  races  in  numbers  within  a century  or  two. 
All  these  data  combined  challenge  the  present  disposi- 
tion of  the  white  races  to  control  the  six  continents 
of  earth  for  their  own  advantage  and  to  restrict  the 
yellow  races  to  a portion  of  one  of  them.  However 
great  the  problems  which  confront  the  various  mem- 
bers of  the  white  races  in  Europe  to-day  and  to- 
morrow, all  men  of  foresight  are  beginning  to  recog- 
nize the  problems  which  will  confront  the  white  and 
yellow  races  the  day  after  to-morrow.  If  the  white 
races  attempt  to  solve  the  race  problem  with  selfish 
motives  and  through  military  power,  we  may  wit- 
ness a race  war  in  comparison  with  which  the  pres- 
ent European  struggle  will  prove  only  a skirmish. 
It  is  discouraging  to  point  out  the  conditions  which 
confront  the  white  and  the  yellow  races,  the  exclu- 
sion policy  already  adopted  by  the  white  races, 
and  the  conflict  into  which  we  seem  to  be  drift- 


458  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

ing  unless  there  is  some  solution  of  the  problem.  We 
believe  there  is  such  a solution.  Divine  Providence 
apparently  has  provided  for  a large  expansion  of  the 
Japanese  and  Chinese  at  home  and  for  an  even  greater 
expansion  of  the  yellow  races  in  Malaysia  during  the 
twentieth  century.  Doubtless  there  will  be  a rapid 
expansion  of  the  white  races  during  the  century.  But 
thoughtful  white  people  must  see  that  the  yellow  races 
are  likely  to  gain  on  us  in  numbers  and  that  it  will  be 
impossible  for  us  to  hold  them  in  permanent  subjec- 
tion by  militarism.  Besides,  both  militarism  and  the 
permanent  subjection  of  one  section  of  the  human 
race  to  another  section  are  repugnant  to  all  our 
instincts  of  justice  and  of  love.  Is  there  not  some 
wiser  and  better  solution  of  the  problems?  With  a 
clear  and  full  presentation  of  the  case  we  believe  it 
will  become  clear  to  all  that  the  New  Testament  and 
the  great  movements  of  the  natural  world  under  evo- 
lution alike  show  that  the  survival  and  increase  of 
each  and  every  race  depend  upon  service  rather  than 
upon  selfishness. 

First,  we  are  clear  that  this  is  the  teaching  of  Jesus. 
The  most  casual  reader  of  the  Bible  must  recognize 
that  Christ  makes  love  the  supreme  law  of  the  Chris- 
tian life.  In  the  twenty-second  chapter  of  Matthew 
he  is  formally  asked  to  name  the  great  commandment 
in  the  law,  and  by  the  “law”  the  inquirer  meant  the 
Old  Testament  as  a whole,  or  the  divine  revelation  as 
it  existed  at  that  time.  Jesus  promptly  accepts  the 
challenge  as  furnishing  an  op])ortunity  to  sum  up 
revelation  in  brief  compass:  “Thou  shalt  love  the 
Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart,  and  with  all  thy  soul, 


CHINA  AND  THE  WORLD 


459 


and  with  all  thy  mind.  This  is  the  great  and  first 
commandment.”  As  if  to  make  his  statement  com- 
plete, Jesus  adds;  “And  a second  like  unto  it  is  this; 
d'hou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself.”  And  then, 
in  order  to  exclude  all  others  from  the  primacy,  Jesus 
concludes,  “On  these  two  commandments  the  whole 
law  hangeth,  and  the  prophets.”  Again,  in  his  final 
conversation  with  his  disciples  Jesus  sums  up  all  his 
teaching  in  the  injunction ; “A  new  commandment  I 
give  unto  you,  that  ye  love  one  another;  even  as  I 
have  loved  you,  that  ye  also  love  one  another.” 
There  can  be  no  question  as  to  the  formal  and  solemn 
nature  of  Jesus’s  proclamation  of  the  law  of  love  as 
the  supreme  law  of  revelation. 

Moreover,  Jesus  does  not  simply  teach  the  law  of 
love.  He  illustrates  it  by  his  life  and  his  death.  “He 
went  about  doing  good.”  “He  tasted  death  for  every 
man.”  Paul  sums  up  the  life  of  Christ  and  makes 
that  life  the  pattern  for  our  own  in  the  following 
words;  “Have  this  mind  in  you,  which  was  also  in 
Christ  Jesus;  who,  existing  in  the  form  of  God, 
counted  not  the  being  on  an  equality  with  God  a thing 
to  be  grasped,  but  emptied  himself,  taking  the  form 
of  a servant,  being  made  in  the  likeness  of  men ; and 
being  found  in  fashion  as  a man,  he  humbled  himself, 
becoming  obedient  even  unto  death,  yea,  the  death  of 
the  cross.”  But  Paul,  so  far  from  seeing  in  this 
life  of  service  and  this  death  upon  the  cross  the  failure 
of  Jesus  to  make  his  own  highest  interest  secure  in  the 
universe,  recognizes  that  through  this  act  of  supreme 
service  Jesus  comes  to  the  throne  of  the  universe. 


“ John  13.  34. 


“ Phil.  2.  5-9. 


46o  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

“Wherefore  also  God  highly  exalted  him,  and  gave 
unto  him  the  name  which  is  above  every  name;  that 
in  the  name  of  Jesus  every  knee  should  bow,  of  things 
in  heaven  and  things  on  earth,  and  things  under  the 
earth,  and  that  every  tongue  should  confess  that  Jesus 
Christ  is  Lord,  to  the  glory  of  God  the  Father.” 
Surely,  if  the  Bible  contains  any  revelation  from  God 
at  all,  the  divine  program  for  mankind  is  the  life  of 
service  rather  than  the  life  of  selfishness;  and  revela- 
tion teaches  that  this  life  is  a practicable  life  even  in 
a world  of  sin.  Paul  finds  the  highest  manifestation 
of  Christ’s  love  in  the  fact  that  while  we  were  yet 
sinners  Christ  died  for  us.  Above  all,  Jesus  makes 
love  the  law  of  God  in  dealing  with  a sinful  race,  as 
well  as  the  law  of  man.  “God  so  loved  the  world, 
that  he  gave  his  only  begotten  Son,  that  whosoever 
believeth  on  him  should  not  perish,  but  have  eternal 
life.  For  God  sent  not  his  Son  into  the  world  to 
judge  the  world;  but  that  the  world  should  be  saved 
through  him.” 

We  must  bear  in  mind  that  Jesus  contemplates  no 
narrow  asceticism  and  no  dwarfing  of  one’s  personal 
powers,  and  hence  no  impracticable  idealism  in  his 
exposition  of  the  law  of  love.  As  expounded  by 
Christ,  love  does  not  exclude  love  of  one’s  country,  of 
one’s  family,  or  even  of  oneself.  Love  of  God  is 
indeed  the  supreme  command.  But  Jesus  himself 
makes  the  love  of  neighbor  second  only  to  this  first 
command  and  “like  unto  it.”  Moreover,  in  the  second 
command,  to  love  one’s  neighbor,  Jesus  clearly  implies 
the  love  of  self.  “Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as 


“ Phil.  2.  9-1 1. 


John  3.  16.  17. 


CHINA  AND  THE  WORLD 


461 


thyself.”  If  these  words  do  not  imply  the  love  of  self, 
how  much  do  they  command  us  to  love  our  neighbors  ? 

But  we  are  not  left  to  inferences  as  to  the  compat- 
ability  of  the  law  of  love  as  set  forth  by  Jesus  with  the 
law  of  self-perfection  also  enjoined  by  him.  Kant  was 
right  in  holding  that  the  teaching  of  Jesus  makes 
every  person  an  end  in  himself.  Jesus  sums  up  the 
most  important  section  of  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount 
in  the  statement:  “Ye,  therefore  shall  be  perfect,  as 
your  heavenly  Father  is  perfect.”  All  recognize 
that  the  Bible  contains  a doctrine  of  sanctification  or 
of  personal  spiritual  perfection  enjoined  upon  the  chil- 
dren of  the  Kingdom.  But  Jesus,  so  far  from  regard- 
ing sanctification  as  something  to  be  sought  inde- 
pendently of  and  in  preference  to  one’s  service  of  his 
neighbor,  regards  it,  rather,  as  an  absolute  condition 
for  the  highest  service  of  humanity.  “For  their  sakes 
I sanctify  myself.”  And  again,  so  far  from  regard- 
ing the  service  which  is  demanded  by  our  families  and 
by  the  nation  to  which  we  belong  and  by  the  world  as 
inconsistent  with  personal  perfection,  Jesus  regards 
the  humiliations  and  sufferings  which  he  endured  for 
others  as  an  essential  part  of  the  program  for  his  own 
perfection.  When  even  the  Pharisees  warned  him 
that  Herod  was  seeking  his  life,  and  advised  him  to 
escape  from  Herod’s  jurisdiction,  Jesus  answered 
them:  “Go  and  say  to  that  fox.  Behold,  I cast  out 
demons  and  perform  cures  to-day  and  to-morrow, 
and  the  third  day  I am — ” what?  Crucified?  Yes, 
that  is  what  happened  on  the  third  day.  But  Jesus 
does  not  describe  the  process  by  that  humiliating 


**  Matt,  s-  48. 


“John  17.  19. 


462  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

term;  “Go  and  say  to  that  fox,  Behold,  I cast  out 
demons  and  perform  cures  to-day  and  to-morrow,  and 
the  third  day  I am  perfected.”^®  As  if  his  death  upon 
the  cross  was  the  highest  and  final  step  in  his  own  per- 
fection. The  program  prescribed  for  individuals  and 
for  humanity  under  the  law  of  love  as  interpreted  by 
Jesus  is  exceeding  broad.  It  includes  the  perfection 
of  the  individual  as  well  as  the  highest  service  of 
others.  Again,  in  considering  the  New  Testament 
teaching  on  love,  we  must  keep  in  mind  the  distinc- 
tion between  the  state  and  the  church.  In  general, 
the  state  rests  upon,  and  should  be  the  embodiment  of, 
justice;  the  church,  of  love.  This  distinction  arises 
from  the  fundamental  difference  between  the  two : the 
state  executes  her  laws,  when  necessary,  by  physical 
force;  the  church  urges  her  principles  upon  men  only 
by  reason,  by  moral  influence,  by  spiritual  power. 
Hence,  in  the  main,  the  state  should  restrict  her  activ- 
ities within  the  province  of  justice,  while  the  church 
should  urge  men  not  only  to  act  justly  but  to  go  beyond 
justice  and  obey  the  impulse  of  love  in  serving  one 
another.  There  are  occasions  and  possibly  there  are 
realms  of  action  in  which  the  state  for  self-preserva- 
tion should  go  beyond  the  dictates  of  justice  in  its  serv- 
ice of  individuals,  of  communities,  and  of  neighboring 
states.  But,  in  the  main,  the  state  should  not  impose 
legislation  beyond  the  demands  of  justice,  because  her 
laws  in  the  last  analysis  are  imposed  upon  men  by 
force. 

Herein  lies  the  fundamental  objection  to  state 
socialism.  “To  each  according  to  his  need,  from  each 


Luke  13.  32. 


CHINA  AND  THE  WORLD  463 

according  to  his  ability”  is  a Christian  injunction 
vvliich  ought  to  be  accepted  loy  each  man  in  dealing 
with  his  fellows,  just  as  prayer  and  worship  of  God 
are  Christian  injunctions.  But  for  the  state  to  en- 
force worship  by  law'  is  to  lose  sight  of  the  funda- 
mental distinction  between  herself  and  the  church. 
But  the  state  has  no  more  right  to  enforce  by  law 
Christianity  in  the  form  of  service  than  to  enforce 
Christianity  in  the  form  of  w'orship.  Hence,  while 
the  law'  of  love  applies  to  the  church  and  to  all  individ- 
uals in  their  voluntary  relations  to  others,  the  state  in 
general  should  confine  its  demands  within  the  bounds 
of  justice.  Hence  the  law  of  love  wdiich  Christ 
enjoined  upon  mankind  does  not  demand  that  the 
state,  as  a political  organization,  use  money  collected 
by  taxation — that  is,  in  the  last  analysis,  by  force — for 
the  alleviation  of  the  suft’erings  in  another  state,  save 
so  far  as  such  action  may  be  a wise  provision  for  the 
state’s  own  safety  in  some  similar  crisis.  But  if  we 
can  show  that  obedience  to  Christ’s  demand  of  love 
is  not  only  safe  but  is  the  only  condition  for  life  and 
growth  on  the  part  of  all  voluntary  organizations  like 
the  church,  much  more  will  it  become  apparent  that 
obedience  to  the  demands  of  justice  is  essential  to  the 
continuance  and  growth  of  the  state.  Justice  is  the 
eternal  foundation  upon  which  all  enduring  national 
life  must  be  built.  But  the  growth,  or  even  the  con- 
tinuance, of  a race  demands  not  only  that  race’s 
acceptance  of  justice  as  its  ideal  and  its  actual  law  in 
its  corporate  capacity,  but  love  as  the  rule  in  the  vol- 
untary action  of  individuals. 

But  is  it  possible  to  reconcile  the  teaching  of  the 


464  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


New  Testament  with  the  doctrine  of  evolution?  Yes, 
provided  we  recognize  this  broader  interpretation  of 
the  law  of  love.  The  church  has  not  fully  recognized 
the  divine  justification  of  self-regard.  God  would 
have  commanded  us  to  love  ourselves  had  not  such  a 
command  been  entirely  unnecessary.  Certainly,  along 
with  caring  for  one’s  neighbor  it  is  right  and  neces- 
sary to  care  for  oneself.  If  every  person  would  care 
for  his  own  needs,  secure  his  own  growth  and  perfec- 
tion, the  whole  race  would  be  properly  cared  for. 
Indeed,  loving  oneself  and  caring  for  oneself  is  not 
only  necessary  in  order  to  personal  perfection,  and 
is  not  only  placed  by  Jesus  in  the  second  command 
upon  a par  with  caring  for  one’s  neighbor,  but  self- 
perfection  is  essential  to  the  highest  service  of  one’s 
neighbor.  Hence  any  broad  view  of  nature  or  of 
human  nature  must  recognize  self-love,  self-support, 
self-perfection,  as  a part  of  the  divine  program  for 
plants  and  animals  and  men.  Self-preservation  is 
said  to  be  the  first  law  of  nature.  This  is  not  true. 
Upon  the  contrary,  both  nature  and  revelation  point 
to  service  as  the  first  and  supreme  law  of  nature.  But 
self-preservation  is  necessary  also  to  the  law  of  love, 
and  in  the  form  in  which  the  second  command  is 
stated  is  placed  upon  a par  with  it.  Along  with  love 
there  must  also  be  faith  sufficient  to  recognize  that 
spiritual  and  not  material  goods  are  of  supreme 
value  to  man.  Inasmuch  as  population  always  is 
pressing  upon  the  means  of  subsistence,  so  long  as 
the  central  interest  of  men  lies  in  material  goods  we 
cannot  hope  that  the  stronger  will  join  with  the 
weaker  in  helj)ful  cooperation;  rather  will  they  be 


CHINA  AND  THE  WORLD 


465 


inclined  to  accept  that  view  of  life  in  which  might 
makes  right,  and  displaces  not  only  love  but  justice. 
“The  end  of  war  on  earth  lies  entirely  beyond  the 
vision  of  men  who  recognize  only  material  goods. 

‘Warless  when  her  tens  are  thousands 
And  her  nations  millions,  then. 

All  her  harvests  all  too  narrow, 

Who  can  picture  warless  men  ?’  ” 

Only  as  men  have  a faith  which  swallows  up  all  tem- 
poral and  personal  aims  in  universal  and  eternal  ends 
will  they  recognize  the  superior  value  of  spiritual  to 
material  goods. 

Turning  now,  with  this  broader  conception  of  love 
to  nature,  we  must  remember  the  New  Testament 
teaching  that  “All  things  were  made  through  him; 
and  without  him  was  not  anything  made  that  hath 
been  made”;^’  and  also  the  further  teaching  that  “In 
him  [that  is,  in  Christ]  all  things  consist  [or  stand 
together].”^®  Hence,  as  Christ  is  the  Author  of 
nature  as  well. as  of  revelation,  we  ought  to  find  his 
finger  prints  upon  the  one  as  well  as  upon  the  other. 
Evolution  has  taught  us  to  recognize  the  severe 
struggle  which  is  constantly  going  on  in  nature. 
Every  plant  and  tree  is  found  sending  its  roots  down 
into  the  earth  for  nourishment,  and  lifting  its  branches 
and  leaves  upward  for  air  and  sunlight.  In  this  con- 
stant struggle  the  weaker  forms  of  vegetation  are 
starved  and  perish.  But  self-preservation  is  not  the 
first  law  of  the  vegetable  kingdom.  The  first  law  is 
found  in  Genesis  i.  ii : “And  God  said.  Let  the  earth 
put  forth  grass,  herbs  yielding  seed,  and  fruit  tree 

® Col.  I.  17. 


^ John  I.  3. 


466  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


bearing  fruit  after  their  kind,  wherein  is  the  seed 
thereof,  upon  the  earth.”  What  is  the  object  of  this 
universal  law  of  the  vegetable  kingdom?  The  seeds 
and  fruits  produced  are  never  for  the  benefit  of 
the  individual  plant  or  tree  producing  them.  They 
are  produced  for  the  preservation  and  spread  of  the 
species.  That  this  law  of  seed-  and  fruit-bearing  is 
the  first  and  deepest  law  of  the  vegetable  kingdom  is 
apparent  from  the  fact  that  upon  obedience  to  this 
law  the  continuation  of  the  species,  and,  indeed,  the 
continuation  of  the  whole  vegetable  kingdom  depends. 
Hence  not  self-preservation  but  the  perpetuation  of 
the  species,  not  selfishness  but  service,  is  the  deepest 
law  of  the  vegetable  kingdom — the  law  upon  which 
the  very  existence  of  the  vegetable  kingdom  depends. 
So  deep  is  this  law  that  we  find  certain  fruit  trees 
pouring  out  their  strength  in  fruit-  and  seed-bearing 
so  fully  during  one  season  that  they  have  not  strength 
sufficient  to  yield  an  equal  harvest  a second  season. 
Indeed,  some  trees  so  pour  out  their  lives  in  fruit-  and 
seed-bearing  that  they  have  not  vitality  enough  left 
to  carry  them  through  the  winter,  and,  in  the  expres- 
sive phrase  of  the  farmer,  they  are  “winter-killed.” 
What  is  such  conduct  upon  the  part  of  trees,  but  an 
imitation  of  the  life  of  Him  who  saved  others,  while 
himself  he  could  not  save?  Sidney  Lanier,  with  the 
poet’s  vision,  represents  Christ  worn  out  by  the  days 
of  struggle  and  controversy  in  Jerusalem  going  out 
into  the  garden  of  Gethsemane  for  understanding  and 
comfort  from  the  trees.  His  lines,  slightly  changed, 
give  us  a truer  insight  into  the  heart  of  nature  than 
many  books  upon  evolution: 


CAUKA  AXD  THE  WORLD 


467 


“Into  the  woods  my  Master  went, 

Clean  forspent,  forspent ; 

Into  the  woods  my  Master  went 
Forspent  with  grief  and  shame; 

But  the  olives  were  not  blind  to  Him, 

The  little  gray  leaves  were  kind  to  Him, 

The  thorn  tree  had  the  mind  of  Him, 

As  into  the  woods  He  came. 

“Out  of  the  woods  my  Master  went, 

And  He  was  well  content ; 

Out  of  the  woods  my  Master  came. 

Content  with  grief  and  shame.” 

Companions  slept  and  fled  at  last ; 

The  olive  trees  remained  steadfast; 

Buds  whispered  death  could  not  last, 

As  out  of  the  woods  He  came. 

Surely,  the  law  of  love  is  rooted  in  the  vegetable  king- 
dom as  fully  as  it  is  enjoined  by  Christ  upon  the 
human  kingdom. 

Turning  to  the  animal  kingdom,  our  minds  have 
been  filled  with  pictures  of  nature  “ravin  in  tooth  and 
claw.”  It  is  impossible  to  tell  how  much  of  the  sav- 
agery of  the  animal  kingdom  is  due  to  man’s  ill  treat- 
ment of  the  wild  animals.  But  we  must  recognize 
that  we  are  in  a universe  of  struggle,  and  that  animals 
live  by  preying  upon  each  other.  Hence  there  is  an 
instinct  of  slaughter  found  in  the  animal  kingdom 
which  leads  most  animals  to  kill  others  for  their  own 
sustenance,  and  sometimes  apparently  out  of  sheer 
wantonness.  Taking  the  law  of  love  manifested  by 
service  in  its  broadest  sense,  recognizing  that  the 
animal’s  preservation  of  itself  is  second  only  to  its 
service  of  the  species,  and  recognizing  further  that 


468  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


in  this  mutual  destruction  of  each  other  in  the  animal 
kingdom  there  is  involved  no  element  of  self-condem- 
nation and  self-degradation,  nevertheless,  we  are 
sometimes  shocked  by  the  slaughter  which  reigns 
throughout  the  animal  kingdom.  Inasmuch  as  nature 
will  sustain  only  a certain  number  of  animals,  and  as 
no  degradation  is  involved  in  their  mutual  slaughter, 
possibly  a higher  amount  of  animal  enjoyment  is 
found  in  the  shorter  life  of  animals  during  the  periods 
of  their  vigor  with  a more  frequent  appearance  of 
generation  after  generation  than  would  be  expe- 
rienced were  the  life  of  each  generation  prolonged  to 
a decaying  old  age.  However  this  may  be,  and  how- 
ever much  the  humanitarian  may  be  shocked  at  mutual 
slaughter  in  the  animal  kingdom,  nevertheless  here, 
as  in  the  vegetable  kingdom,  service,  not  slaughter, 
is  the  fundamental  law.  The  deepest  law  in  the 
animal  kingdom,  the  law  without  which  the  animal 
kingdom  could  not  continue  beyond  the  present  gen- 
eration, is  the  law  of  motherhood — the  law  by  which 
animals  produce  young  at  the  cost  of  pain  and  danger 
to  themselves,  nourish  them  with  their  own  substance, 
and  defend  them  with  their  own  lives;  and  in  this 
law  of  motherhood  the  animals  are  found  walking 
all  unconsciously  in  the  pathway  of  Him  who  devoted 
his  life  to  service,  and  finally  tasted  death  for  every 
man. 

Turning  to  the  human  kingdom,  the  record  of  man’s 
true  life  is  obscured  by  the  fact  of  degeneration. 
Whatever  may  be  said  in  regard  to  the  fall  of  man, 
the  fact  of  degeneration  is  as  clearly  recognized  by 
science  as  the  fact  of  evolution;  and  we  find  men  in 


CHINA  AND  THE  WORT.D 


469 


the  lower  stages  of  existence  manifesting  signs  of 
degeneracy  which  obscure  the  true  lines  of  life  upon 
which  the  race  should  be  advancing.  Hence  there  are 
two  stages  of  human  life  which  apparently  do  not 
enter  into  the  original  plan  of  creation  for  men,  but 
which  are  marks  of  his  degeneration ; 

I.  The  Stage  of  Sensual  Gratification.  The 
lowest  stage  into  which  human  beings  fall  is  that  of 
pure  individualism,  seeking  its  gratification  in  the 
indulgence  of  physical  appetites.  Morally,  this  stage 
is  below  that  of  animalhood.  It  is  a stage  in  which 
the  individual,  forgetting  the  claims  of  his  family 
upon  him,  forgetting  the  claims  of  himself  upon  him- 
self, loses  self-respect  and  self-mastery  and  sinks  into 
spiritual  death.  The  drunkard,  the  man  given  up  to 
the  use  of  drugs,  and  the  man  surrendering  himself 
to  lust,  each  illustrates  this  lowest  stage  to  which 
human  beings  can  fall.  Under  evolution  and  the 
stern  law  of  competition,  people  so  surrendering  them- 
selves are  speedily  swept  from  the  earth.  Individuals, 
families,  nations,  and  races  which  abandon  themselves 
to  self-indulgence  and  to  sensuality  are  exceedingly 
shortlived.  A striking  fact,  giving  hope  of  the  race’s 
redemption  from  this  low  degeneration,  is  the  spon- 
taneous emergence  of  great  movements  against  the 
use  of  intoxicating  liquors,  and  of  all  forms  of  self- 
indulgence  upon  the  part  of  nations  and  races  when- 
ever they  are  engaged  in  a death  grapple  with  each 
other.  Great  upheavals  against  intemperance  and 
against  all  forms  of  self-indulgence  are  the  by-pro- 
ducts of  the  wars  and  the  commercial  struggles 
through  which  the  nations  pass,  simply  because  tern- 


470  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

perance  and  self-control  are  essential  to  the  continu- 
ance of  the  race’s  life, 

2,  The  Stage  of  Selfish  Ambition.  Above  the 
lowest  and  vilest  stage  is  a stage  of  individual  selfish- 
ness, manifested  by  personal  ambition  and  worldli- 
ness. In  this  stage  men  recognize  the  necessity  of 
suppressing  at  least  temporarily  their  grosser  appetites 
and  training  at  least  for  a time  their  powers  of  body 
and  mind  and  will  for  their  mastery  over  their  fellow 
men  in  the  struggles  of  the  earthly  life.  This  stage 
has  one  element  of  good  in  it  in  that  it  demands  at 
least  temporarily  self-mastery  and  self-development. 
This  stage  illustrates  the  fact  that,  despite  degenera- 
tion, the  race  originally  was  created  on  a divine  plan. 
Under  the  stern  laws  of  evolution  and  the  conflicts 
of  human  life,  those  entering  the  second  stage  soon 
surpass  and  master  those  sinking  into  the  lowest  stage. 
But  this  second  stage  rests  equally  with  the  lowest 
stage  upon  selfishness.  It  is  thus  evil  at  the  core,  and 
being  evil  at  the  core  it  also  is  doomed  to  destruction. 
History  is  full  of  illustrations  of  the  dire  consequences 
which  come  to  individuals  engaged  in  a purely  per- 
sonal and  selfish  struggle  against  families  or  com- 
munities or  nations.  It  is  full  of  illustrations  of  the 
dire  calamities  which  befall  nations  or  races  when 
they  yield  themselves  as  instruments  to  the  personal 
ambitions  of  military  conquerors.  The  Napoleons, 
the  Caesars,  and  the  Alexanders  have  sowed  the  seeds 
of  death  in  the  nations  which  they  have  ruled.  These 
two  stages,  therefore,  illustrate  human  nature  in  its 
state  of  degeneration  rather  than  in  any  state  appar- 
ently contemplated  in  the  original  plan  of  creation. 


CHINA  AND  THE  WORLD 


471 

Turning  now  to  what  is  apparently  tlie  original 
divine  plan  in  creation,  we  find : 

1.  The  Stage  of  Family  Affection  and  Serv- 
ice. This  is  the  first  stage  ordained  by  God.  It  is 
the  stage  into  which  all  men  are  born.  God  provided 
for  the  law  of  love  first  in  the  physical  organization 
of  the  race.  He  has  brought  us  into  the  world,  not  by 
a process  of  direct  creation,  because  separate  creation 
would  leave  each  human  being  entirely  independent 
of  every  other  human  being.  Hence  God  has  brought 
us  into  the  world  by  the  process  of  filiation.  All  of  us 
have  entered  upon  life  through  parents,  and  through 
our  family  lives  we  are  called  into  an  instinctive  love 
and  service  of  each  other.  This  is  the  law  of  love; 
and  the  manifestation  of  this  law  by  service  is  woven 
into  the  very  physical  texture  of  the  race;  and  the 
New  Testament  teaches  that  the  family  is  a divine 
institution  by  which  God  strives  to  call  us  out  of  pure 
individualism  into  family  fellowship,  family  affection, 
and  family  service. 

2.  The  National  Stage.  In  the  stern  struggles 
of  competition,  families  are  obliged  to  group  them- 
selves into  states  and  nations  for  the  sake  of  self- 
preservation  and  of  progress.  Hence  above  the  family 
is  the  state  or  the  nation.  And  the  nation  is  a divine 
institution  by  which  God  calls  us  out  of  the  narrower 
life  of  the  family  or  the  clan  into  the  larger  life  of 
patriotism  and  of  devotion  to  the  state.  “The  powers 
that  be  are  ordained  of  God.”  In  portraying  the 
national  stage  of  civilization  as  superior  to  the  family 
stage  of  civilization  we  are  assuming  the  motives  to 
be  the  same  in  the  two  stages,  namely,  service : in  the 


472  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

one  case  the  service  of  the  family,  and  in  the  other 
the  service  of  the  nation.  Of  course  if  a family  is  held 
together  simply  by  motives  of  greed  for  the  purpose 
of  preying  upon  the  individuals  of  other  families,  the 
family  has  become  degenerate.  So  if  a nation  is  held 
together  simply  by  predatory  motives  for  the  sake  of 
preying  upon  other  nations,  the  nation  becomes  de- 
generate. But  with  the  motive  of  love  manifested  by 
service  operating  in  the  family  and  in  the  nation, 
patriotism  is  a higher  virtue  than  devotion  to  family 
interests,  because  it  calls  for  a wider  and  more  nearly 
universal  application  of  the  law  of  love.  Hence,  in 
the  competition  of  modern  life,  any  nation  whose  civ- 
ilization is  based  upon  the  family  is  doomed  in  the 
struggle  with  other  nations  whose  civilization  is  based 
upon  patriotism,  or  devotion  to  the  life  of  the  nation 
as  a whole.  Just  because  China  has  in  the  past  been 
composed  of  small  groups  of  individuals  bound  to- 
gether as  families,  and  just  because  on  the  other  side 
of  the  straits  a far  smaller  number  of  Japanese  have 
recently  become  inspired  with  a devotion  to  the  nation 
and  to  the  race  and  are  moved  by  a common  impulse, 
Japan  has  become  stronger  than  China.  The  tran- 
sition of  civilization  from  the  family  to  the  national 
stage  is  the  most  marked  characteristic  of  the  last 
fifteen  years  of  Chinese  public  life;  and  the  time  is 
speedily  coming  when  the  three  or  four  hundred  mil- 
lions of  Chinese  welded  together  as  a nation  will  be 
invincible  to  any  foes  which  may  be  hurled  against 
them. 

Professor  Seeley,  of  Cambridge,  was  accustomed 
to  tell  his  students  that  nationalism  is  the  key  to  the 


CHINA  AND  THE  WORLD 


473 


civilization  of  the  nineteenth  century.  He  cited  the 
twenty-five  German  kingdoms  united  to  form  the  Ger- 
man empire,  the  eight  principalities  of  Italy  uniting 
into  the  kingdom  of  Italy,  the  welding  together  of  the 
discordant  States  into  the  American  Union,  and  the 
knitting  together  of  the  far-flung  colonies  and  de- 
pendencies of  Great  Britain  into  the  British  empire 
as  the  products  of  the  national  ideal  operating  in  the 
history  of  the  nineteenth  century.  Some  Americans 
recall  the  baptism  of  patriotism  through  which  the 
United  States  passed  in  the  great  struggle  from  i86i- 
65.  Those  of  us  who  are  boys  recall  the  young 
men  whom  we  regarded  as  our  natural  leaders  enlist- 
ing, sometimes  one  at  a time,  more  frequently  in 
groups,  and  sometimes  by  entire  companies,  and  start- 
ing for  the  distant  battlefields.  Our  hearts  were 
thrilled  with  the  reports  which  reached  home  describ- 
ing the  battles  and  giving  the  names  of  the  wounded 
and  the  dead.  We  enshrined  in  our  hearts  our  dead 
brothers  and  friends,  and  transfigured  them  into 
heroes  in  our  youthful  imaginations.  It  is  this  same 
spirit  of  patriotism  which  is  lifting  millions  and  mil- 
lions of  humble  Chinese  to  that  exalted  plane  in  which 
they  are  willing  to  lay  down  their  lives  upon  the  altar 
of  their  country.  \Mio  doubts  that  the  tens  of  thou- 
sands of  Americans  who  laid  down  their  lives  at 
Antietam  and  Gettysburg,  of  the  Japanese  at  Port 
Arthur  and  on  the  plains  of  Mukden,  of  Germans,  of 
Englishmen,  of  Frenchmen  who  are  pouring  out  their 
blood  for  what  seems  to  them  to  be  the  very  existence 
of  their  fatherlands  are — some  of  them  blindly  and 
unconsciously,  but  all  of  them  in  reality — following  in 


474  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

the  footsteps  of  Him  who  trod  the  heights  of  Calvary? 
In  the  Horatii  dying  at  the  bridge  for  Rome,  in 
Arnold  von  Winkelried  gathering  the  spears  of  his 
country’s  enemies  into  his  own  breast  and  dying  for 
his  native  land,  in  the  hundreds  of  thousands  in  all 
lands  who  have  poured  out  their  blood  like  water  for 
their  beloved  countries,  do  we  find  illustrations  of  the 
weakness  and  sentimentality  of  human  nature  ? Does 
not  such  conduct  rather  represent  high  and  noble 
qualities  of  human  nature,  qualities  which  will  lead 
on  to  the  new  humanity  in  Christ?  Surely,  family 
affection  and  patriotism  are  stages  along  the  way  to 
the  perfection  of  the  race. 

3.  The  Stage  of  Universal  Service.  But  above 
the  family  and  above  the  nation  God  has  placed  the 
church.  The  church  is  not  simply  an  ecclesiastical 
organization  through  which  spiritual  ambitions  are 
to  be  realized,  nor  is  it  established  for  the  consolation 
and  comfort  of  the  weaker  portions  of  humanity. 
Jesus  said  little  about  the  church  in  any  formal  sense, 
but  spoke  frequently  of  a kingdom  of  heaven  upon 
earth.  The  church  is  a divine  institution  so  far  as  it 
represents  this  larger  and  completer  organization  of 
humanity  as  a whole.  It  is  divine  because  it  is  the 
means  by  which  God  calls  us  out  of  the  broader 
service  of  the  nation  or  the  race  into  the  highest  ser- 
vice of  humanity  as  a whole.  Just  because  national- 
ism does  not  represent  the  supreme  embodiment  of 
the  law  of  love  it  cannot  represent  the  final  stage  of 
civilization.  In  practice  it  denies  that  God  hath  made 
of  one  blood  all  nations  to  dwell  upon  the  face  of  the 
earth.  It  discredits  Christ’s  supreme  act  of  sacrifice 


CHINA  AND  THE  WORLD 


475 


in  tasting  death  for  every  man.  Just  as  the  slight- 
est deviation  at  the  start  from  the  straight  line  which 
leads  from  our  earth  to  Sirius  would,  in  the  infinite 
journey  thither,  cause  one  to  miss  entirely  that  star, 
so  the  diflference  between  patriotism  and  the  perfect 
law  of  love  is  sufficient  to  cause  any  nation  or  any  race 
which  makes  patriotism  supreme  to  miss  its  goal  and 
perish  by  the  wayside.  The  same  danger  which  con- 
fronts any  race  which  makes  nationalism  or  race 
supremacy  its  goal,  confronts  any  church  which 
makes  its  own  supremacy  its  chief  aim,  and  its  funda- 
mental teaching.  Denominationalism,  under  what- 
ever guise  it  may  cloak  itself,  and  especially  when 
it  hides  under  the  guise  of  a universal  church,  is 
open  to  the  same  danger  as  nationalism,  namely, 
of  substituting  the  glorification  of  a part  for  the 
service  of  the  whole.  Denominationalism  is  more 
dangerous  to  Christendom  than  is  patriotism,  because 
patriotism  is  a natural  stage  in  the  evolution  of 
humanity  and  the  advancement  of  the  race  toward 
its  goal,  whereas,  the  race  having  once  entered  upon 
the  stage  of  universal  service,  denominationalism  be- 
comes a retrogression  to  the  stage  of  nationalism. 
Denominationalism  is,  therefore,  a sign  of  degenera- 
tion in  the  church.  It  consists  in  losing  sight  of  the 
church’s  summons  to  universal  service  and  harking 
back  to  the  false  dream  of  sectarian  supremacy  under 
the  false  warrant  of  a divine  decree. 

Accepting  Professor  Seeley’s  maxim  that  national- 
ism has  been  the  key  to  the  political  history  of  the 
nineteenth  century,  we  predict  that  internationalism 
will  be  the  key  to  the  political  history  of  the  twentieth 


476  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


century  and  after.  If  God  is  the  Creator  and  Ruler 
of  this  universe,  and  if  love  is  the  fundamental  law 
revealed  by  him  for  human  conduct,  and  practiced 
by  him  in  the  guidance  of  the  universe,  destruction 
is  inevitable  for  any  nation  or  race  which  falsely 
interprets  evolution  and  attempts  to  maintain  the 
doctrine  that  might  makes  right.  Upon  the  other 
hand,  we  find  illustrations  in  nature  of  the  principle 
which  must  guide  us  in  our  final  international  rela- 
tions. As  evolution  has  advanced  and  the  various 
races  of  mankind  have  settled  down  into  a partial 
possession  of  the  earth,  they  have  found  it  necessary 
to  cultivate  those  products  of  the  vegetable  king- 
dom which  contribute  most  to  human  and  animal 
subsistence.  Hence  such  grains  as  rice,  wheat,  maize, 
oats,  etc.,  are  gradually  spreading  over  the  earth, 
while  the  harmful  and  even  useless  forms  of  vegeta- 
tion are  gradually  being  extirpated.  The  process  is 
very  far  from  complete  because  the  human  race  is  very 
far  from  taking  complete  possession  of  the  earth  upon 
which  it  lives.  Nevertheless,  the  process  has  gone 
so  far  that  the  domestic  animals  and  certain  grains 
are  now  in  possession  of  considerable  portions  of  the 
earth’s  surface,  not  primarily  because  of  their  own 
efforts  at  self-preservation,  but  primarily  through  the 
efforts  of  members  of  a higher  kingdom.  Were  these 
animals  and  grains  endowed  with  reason  and  were 
they  able  to  discuss  their  present  condition  and  their 
prospects,  doubtless  they  would  be  found  attributing 
their  extension  over  the  earth  to  some  Divine  Provi- 
dence which  led  the  beings  in  some  higher  kingdom 
to  select  them  for  preservation  and  supremacy.  This 


CHINA  AND  THE  WORLD 


477 


thought  of  a Divine  Providence  operating  in  the  his- 
tory of  mankind  has  never  been  absent  from  the 
human  race,  and  there  is  a profound  truth  lying  at  its 
base.  If  the  time  comes,  as  under  the  progress  of 
evolution  scientists  believe  that  it  will,  when  the  race 
multiplies  until  it  takes  complete  possession  of  all  the 
earth,  then  all  the  noxious  weeds  and  purely  useless 
vegetable  products  will  be  eliminated  and  only  the 
useful  products  of  the  vegetable  kingdom  preserved. 
Thus,  under  an  evolution  in  which  the  vegetables  and 
grains  are  not  directly  the  chief  factors  but  in  which 
they  are  indirectly  the  chief  factors,  because  of  their 
service  to  higher  kingdoms,  we  shall  find  a final  sur- 
vival of  those  members  of  the  vegetable  kingdom 
which  render  the  largest  service  to  the  higher  king- 
doms upon  the  earth.  The  same  will  be  true  of  the 
animal  kingdom.  Here  we  find  forecasts  of  the  sur- 
vival in  nature  of  those  grains  and  animals  which 
render  the  largest  service  to  the  race. 

Already  this  same  law  is  beginning  to  operate  in 
the  human  kingdom.  There  are  now  found  in  all  so- 
called  pagan  nations  various  types  of  religion  which 
set  themselves  to  minister  to  human  needs.  Already 
the  law  of  evolution  is  operating  among  them,  and 
Christianity  is  by  no  means  beyond  the  reach  of  this 
law.  The  reason  Alohammedanism  has  supplanted 
many  lower  types  of  polytheism  is  because  of  its 
greater  service  to  humanity.  The  observance  of  the 
command,  “Thou  shalt  have  no  other  gods  before  me,” 
is  more  essential  to  the  preservation  of  the  race  to 
which  it  is  given  than  to  the  glory  of  the  God  who 
utters  it.  Let  a nation  once  believe  that  Ceres  is  a 


478  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


goddess  who  can  be  worshiped  only  by  uninterrupted 
cultivation  of  the  soil ; that  Mars  is  a god  who  can  be 
worshiped  only  by  men  engaged  in  war ; that  Bacchus 
is  a god  -who  can  be  worshiped  only  by  men  giving 
themselves  up  to  drunkenness;  and  Venus  a goddess 
the  worship  of  whom  demands  that  men  and  women 
give  themselves  up  to  lives  of  lust,  and  such  a nation  is 
so  divided  in  its  aims  and  efforts  that  it  cannot  pos- 
sibly develop  any  strong  life.  Mohammedanism,  with 
its  stern  doctrine  of  the  unity  of  God,  easily  supplanted 
polytheism,  not  simply  or  chiefly  because  of  the  wars 
which  Mohammedans  were  willing  to  wage  for  their 
religion.  The  Mohammedans  waged  these  wars, 
rather,  because  they  felt  that  their  faith  was  essential 
to  the  success  or  even  the  survival  of  civilization : and 
Mohammedanism  supplanted  these  other  faiths  be- 
cause it  made  larger  contributions  toward  the  preser- 
vation and  growth  of  the  races  adopting  it  than  poly- 
theism could  possibly  make. 

So  ancestral  worship  has  survived  in  China  because 
it  has  contributed  more  to  the  preservation  of  the 
existence  of  the  families  adopting  it  than  the  ani- 
mistic forms  of  worship  with  which  it  was  largely  in 
competition.  And  so  Shintoism  has  survived  in  Japan 
because  it  has  developed  a national  patriotism  and  has 
contributed  more  to  the  upbuilding  of  the  Japanese 
nation  than  the  various  forms  of  nature  worship 
which  it  supplanted.  Christianity  is  brought  face  to 
face  with  these  varied  types  of  religion.  Its  survival 
or  decadence  will  depend  wholly  upon  the  service 
which  it  renders  the  races  and  civilizations  to  which 
it  claims  to  minister.  If  it  makes  these  races  stronger 


CHINA  AND  THE  WORLD 


479 


than  their  competitors  who  maintain  the  older  forms 
of  religions,  then  the  races  which  accept  Christianity 
are  sure  to  survive  and  grow,  and  the  races  which 
neglect  it  are  doomed  to  perish.  If  Christianity  once 
recognizes  its  divine  charter  and  remains  true  to 
the  command  to  serve,  we  may  be  sure  of  its  final 
triumph.  Who  doubts  that  Christianity  with  its  doc- 
trine of  one  God;  that  Christianity  with  its  doctrine 
of  a holy  God;  that  Christianity  with  its  revelation  of 
the  possibilities  of  the  forgiveness  of  sin;  that  Chris- 
tianity with  its  doctrine  of  a new  birth  and  its  promise 
of  a Holy  Spirit  who  enters  the  human  heart  and 
reinforces  human  personality;  that  Christianity  with 
its  doctrine  of  the  Fatherhood  of  God  and  the  brother- 
hood of  man ; that  Christianity  with  love  manifested 
by  service  as  its  supreme  law,  will  contribute  more 
to  the  preservation  and  advancement  of  individuals 
and  families  and  nations  and  races  who  honestly  ac- 
cept it  than  can  iMohammedanism  or  Confucianism  or 
Hinduism? 

Christ  is  set  in  the  world  for  the  rise  and  fall  of 
families,  of  nations,  of  churches,  and  of  races.  Any 
family  which  dreams  that  it  has  the  power  to  rule  by 
divine  fiat;  any  race  or  nation  which  believes  that  it 
is  called  to  the  leadership  by  virtue  of  its  color  or  its 
birthright  or  of  the  divine  favor;  any  church  which 
holds  that  by  some  magical  power  of  the  keys  or  by 
some  divine  decree  it  is  called  to  the  leadership  of 
the  Christian  world,  and  through  that  leadership  to 
the  domination  of  the  human  race,  is  as  surely  doomed 
as  selfishness  in  all  the  smaller  manifestations  of  life 
is  doomed.  Even  Christ  is  coming  to  the  throne  of 


48o  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


the  universe,  not  by  virtue  of  his  sonship  to  God,  but 
by  virtue  of  his  service  to  humanity.  It  was  because 
he  thought  equality  with  God  not  a prize  to  be  seized ; 
it  was  because  he  humbled  himself  and  appeared  in 
fashion  as  a man;  it  was  because,  being  found  in 
fashion  as  a man,  he  devoted  himself  to  a life  of  serv- 
ice and  to  death  upon  the  cross  for  our  redemption, 
that  God  hath  highly  exalted  him  and  given  him  the 
name  above  every  name,  “that  in  the  name  of  Jesus 
every  knee  should  bow,  and  every  tongue  confess  him 
Lord,  to  the  glory  of  God  the  Father.” 

Sir  Robert  Hart,  who  studied  the  Chinese  for  some 
forty  years,  believed  that  Chinese  potential  hatred  of 
foreigners  constitutes  a real  menace  to  the  human 
race.  He  held  that  some  four  hundred  million  people, 
sturdy  and  passionately  devoted  to  their  ancient  cus- 
toms, might  in  time,  under  the  influence  of  bitter  race 
hatred  between  the  yellow  and  the  white  peoples,  be 
changed  from  a peace-loving  community  into  a war- 
like people,  bent  on  avenging  their  wrongs.  He  saw 
only  two  courses  open  to  the  white  races  in  dealing 
with  the  Chinese  problem:  partition  of  China  among 
the  white  nations,  which  he  regarded  as  impossible, 
or  an  almost  miraculous  spread  of  Christianity  among 
them — “a  not  impossible  but  scarcely  to  be  hoped  for 
religious  service  which  will  convert  China  into  the 
friendliest  of  friendly  powers.” 

We  suggest  the  following  measures  for  the  relief 
of  the  situation:  First.  Introduce  Christianity  into 
China  as  rapidly  as  possible.  This  will  insure  the 
education  of  Chinese  children;  the  education  of  Chi- 


2*  Foster,  John  W.:  American  Diplomacy  in  the  Orient,  p.  435. 


CHINA  AND  THE  WORLD 


481 


nesc  children  will  demand  houses  with  large  window 
frames  filled  with  glass — as  in  American  homes — with 
board  floors  instead  of  damp  cold  dirt  or  brick  floors, 
and  with  suflicient  heat  in  winter  for  comfort  in  study- 
ing. Christian  education  also  will  insure  the  lighting 
as  well  as  the  heating  of  the  homes.  In  a word,  the 
introduction  of  Christianity  into  China  automatically 
tends  to  raise  the  condition  of  the  Chinese  laborers 
to  that  of  Western  workmen  and  thus  to  equalize 
wages  around  the  globe.  Probably  also  the  disap- 
pearance of  the  superstition  in  regard  to  the  need  of 
sons  to  perform  ancestral  rites  and  the  raising  of  the 
standard  of  living  will  be  followed  by  the  lowering  of 
the  birth  rate  and  a decreasing  pressure  of  the  yellow 
races  upon  the  white  races. 

Second.  We  should  introduce  the  applied  sciences 
into  China  and  thus  develop  her  marvelous  resources 
so  as  to  enable  her  to  take  care  of  the  natural  increase 
of  her  population.  With  the  intense  love  of  the 
Chinese  for  their  own  country,  very  few  Chinese  will 
emigrate,  provided  they  can  make  a comfortable  liv- 
ing at  home. 

Third.  Introduce  applied  sciences  and  Christianity 
into  Malaysia — the  natural  region  for  Chinese,  Jap- 
anese, and  Indian  colonization;  and  in  due  time  per- 
mit the  people  of  these  regions  to  decide  for  them- 
selves whether  they  prefer  the  maintenance  of  their 
affiliations  with  the  United  States  and  the  various 
European  nations  or  establishing  new  affiliations  with 
Japan,  China,  and  possibly  India,  or  establishing  inde- 
pendent governments.  In  case  they  choose  the  latter 
course,  the  so-called  Christian  nations  should  bind 


482  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


themselves  to  respect  the  independence  of  these  peo- 
ples and  preserve  them  from  aggression  by  other 
nations  until  they  have  a reasonable  opportunity  to 
demonstrate  their  fitness  for  self-government. 

Fourth.  Broaden  the  Monroe  Doctrine  so  as  to 
take  all  American  governments  into  partnership  with 
the  United  States  in  maintaining  it.  At  the  same 
time  permit  each  American  nation  to  make  such 
arrangements  as  it  wishes  with  other  nations  for  the 
increase  of  its  population  by  immigration,  so  far  as 
the  other  American  nations  judge  such  immigration 
to  be  consistent  with  the  liberty  and  safety  of  the 
American  nations  as  a whole. 

Fifth.  Let  the  United  States  adopt  some  such 
policy  for  the  control  of  immigration  into  our  own 
borders  as  that  outlined  by  Dr.  Sidney  Gulick ; namely, 
the  admission  to  our  country  annually  of  five  per  cent 
of  the  number  of  people  of  any  other  country,  now 
living  in  the  United  States  who  have  become  natural- 
ized American  citizens.  Dr.  Gulick  points  out  the 
fact  that  this  rule  would  permit  even  an  increase  of 
emigrants  from  northern  Europe  while  tending  to 
restrict  emigration  from  southern  Europe,  and  at  the 
same  time  admit  only  a handful  of  Chinese  and 
Japanese  during  the  coming  generation.  Certainly, 
the  rule  would  insure  the  assimilation  of  all  who  come 
to  America,  because,  while  operating  fairly  among 
all  nations,  it  would  exclude  increasing  emigration 
from  those  lands  whose  emigrants  have  not  become 
American  citizens.  Despite  the  fact  that  our  country 
is  in  considerable  measure  effectively  occupied,  some 
such  policy  impresses  us  as  sane  and  safe. 


CHINA  AND  THE  WORLD  483 

Sixth.  Above  all,  by  Christian  conduct  and  service 
assure  the  people  of  every  land  of  the  desire  of  the 
white  races  not  to  exploit  them  hut  to  serve  them. 
Lhider  the  teachings  alike  of  human  history,  of  evolu- 
tion, and  of  the  gospel,  this  is  the  only  assurance  of 
our  continuance  as  white  races. 

Use  not  thy  power  in  manner  rude. 

To  rule  for  gain  the  multitude; 

Or  thou  shalt  find  that  power  depart, 

To  seek  some  holier  heart. 

Lord  Curzon  in  his  latest  volume  upon  The  Far 
East,  referring  to  English  bravery  and  appealing  to 
English  ambition,  wrote : 

We  sailed  wherever  ship  could  sail, 

We  founded  many  a mighty  state, 

Pray  God  our  greatness  do  not  fail. 

Through  craven  fear  of  being  great. 

In  view  of  the  missionaries,  of  the  physicians,  of 
the  teachers,  and  the  preachers,  whom  the  Christian 
churches  are  sending  to  pagan  lands,  we  prefer  to 
change  Lord  Curzon’s  quatrain  and  make  it  read  as 
follows : 

We  went  where  ship  could  never  sail. 

We  sowed  the  seeds  of  church  and  state. 

Pray  God  our  greatness  do  not  fail, 

Through  false  ambition  to  be  great. 

The  question,  then,  which  confronts  the  people  of 
Europe,  the  United  States,  China,  Japan,  and  India, 
is  not  the  question  as  to  how  much  we  can  get,  but 
how  much  we  can  give.  It  is  not  the  question  as  to 
how  far  one  nation  or  race  can  dominate  the  Pacific, 
but  how  far  each  can  stand  for  absolute  justice  as 
between  nations  and  races.  Giving  the  yellow  races 


484  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


a fair  chance  in  the  world  indeed  seems  to  restrict  the 
privilege  of  the  white  races,  but  in  reality  the  very 
existence  of  the  white  races,  and  especially  their  con- 
tinued moral  and  political  influence  upon  our  globe, 
depend  upon  the  justice  which  as  nations  and  the  serv- 
ice which  as  Christians  they  can  render  the  yellow 
races.  We  get  by  giving;  we  live  by  dying;  we  in- 
crease by  being  spent;  love  is  wisdom;  the  servant 
is  the  ruler.  Only  as  we  forego  all  personal  and 
temporal  aims  do  we  rise  into  the  region  of  the  uni- 
versal and  the  eternal.  Justice  and  love  are  the  prin- 
ciples upon  which  not  only  the  safety  and  progress 
but  the  very  life  of  races  and  nations  depend.  This 
program  for  nations  rests  upon  justice  and  gives 
assurance  of  permanent  national  life  because  justice 
is  eternal.  This  program  for  individuals  rests  upon 
love  manifested  by  service  and  is  in  accord  with  the 
whole  spirit  of  evolution  and  the  entire  teachings  of 
revelation. 

Already,  as  mentioned  in  the  chapter  on  China  and 
America,  the  American  people  have  won  the  hearts 
of  the  Chinese  by  a century  of  missionary  efforts  for 
their  upliftment,  by  the  services  of  the  American  gov- 
ernment in  aiding  the  Chinese  government  to  suppress 
foreign  traffic  in  Chinese  coolies,  foreign  trade  in 
opium,  and  to  preserve  the  sovereignty  and  integrity 
of  the  nation,  by  the  return  of  the  Boxer  indemnity 
and  its  use  in  educating  Chinese  students  in  American 
universities,  and  by  the  proposed  services  of  the  China 
Medical  Commission.  Both  the  American  govern- 
ment and  the  American  people  should  strive,  along 
different  lines,  but  in  every  possible  way,  to  cultivate 


CHINA  AND  THE  WORLD 


485 


equally  friendly  and  equally  helpful  relations  with 
Japan,  If,  with  confidence  in  and  service  of  two  such 
nations  as  Japan  and  China,  the  United  States  will 
wisely  continue  for  a generation  her  service  of  the 
Philippines  and  then  conclude  these  services  by  an 
unselfish  recognition  of  the  Filipino  independence,  fol- 
lowed by  such  complete  freedom  on  their  part  or  such 
an  alliance  with  ourselves  as  the  Filipinos  may  desire 
— the  United  States  may  help  inaugurate  a policy 
which  will  not  cost  a thousandth  part  of  the  price  of 
military  dictation,  but  which  will  be  worth  in  trade,  in 
the  avoidance  of  war  and  in  humanitarian  blessings  a 
million  fold  more  than  any  possible  outcome  of  mili- 
tary dictation.  Is  it  too  much  for  our  government  to 
aim  to  establish  around  the  Pacific  basin  a new 
diplomacy  based  upon  justice  and  service? 

We  have  fetched  a wide  compass  but  we  have  never 
lost  sight  of  our  goal.  Our  problem  is  China  and  the 
world.  Shallow  thinkers  regard  Christianity  as  an 
“iridescent  dream,”  a beautiful  ideal  utterly  impos- 
sible of  application  to  the  business  and  political  condi- 
tions of  the  world  in  which  we  live.  Alfred  Austin, 
poet  laureate  of  England,  expresses  contempt  of  this 
worldly  philosophy,  and  a wise  confidence  in  the  Chris- 
tian ideal: 

Say  that  we  dream ! our  dreams  have  woven 
Truths  that  outface  the  burning  sun. 

The  lightnings  that  we  dreamed  have  cloven 
Time,  space,  and  locked  all  lands  in  one ; 

Have  knit  the  world  with  threads  of  steel 
Till  no  remotest  island  lingers 

Beyond  the  world’s  one  Commonweal. 


486  CHINA;  AN  INTERPRETATION 

Tell  us  that  custom,  sloth,  and  fear 

Are  strong ; then  name  them  “Common  sense” ; 

Tell  us  that  greed  rules  everywhere; 

Then  dub  the  lie  “experience” ; 

Year  after  year,  age  after  age 

Has  handed  down  through  fool  and  child 

For  earth’s  divinest  heritage 

The  dreams  whereon  old  Wisdom  smiled. 

Dreams  are  they?  But  ye  cannot  stay  them 
Or  thrust  the  dawn  back  for  one  hour ! 

Truth,  love,  and  justice,  if  ye  slay  them. 

Return  with  more  than  earthly  power. 

Strive,  if  ye  will,  to  seal  the  fountains 
That  send  the  spring  through  leaf  and  spray. 

Drive  back  the  sun  from  eastern  mountains. 

Then  bid  this  mightier  movement  stay. 

Descending  from  England’s  prophet  to  one  of  her 
great  economists,  Alfred  Marshall  puts  in  the  fore- 
front of  his  Principles  of  Economics  the  conviction 
which  business  experience  has  led  political  economists 
to  accept,  namely:  “The  two  great  forming  agencies 
of  the  world’s  history  have  been  the  religious  and  the 
economic.  Here  and  there  the  military  or  the  artistic 
spirit  has  been  for  a while  predominant,  but  religious 
and  economic  influences  have  nowhere  been  displaced 
from  the  front  rank  even  for  a time;  and  they  have 
nearly  always  been  more  important  than  all  others 
put  together.” 

Let  us  quote  again,  and  this  time  from  a historian 
who,  while  professing  skepticism  in  regard  to  theolog- 
ical dogmas,  recognizes  the  binding  nature  of  the  law 
of  service.  James  Anthony  Froude  writes ; “Through- 
out human  life,  from  the  first  relation  of  parent  and 
child  to  the  organization  of  a nation,  in  daily  inter- 


CHINA  AND  THE  WORLD 


487 


course  of  common  life,  in  our  loves  and  in  our  friend- 
ships, in  our  toils  and  in  our  amusements,  in  trades 
and  in  handicrafts,  in  sickness  and  in  health,  in  war 
and  in  peace,  at  every  point  where  one  human  soul 
comes  in  contact  with  another,  there  is  to  be  found 
everywhere,  as  the  condition  of  right  conduct,  the 
obligation  to  sacrifice  self.  ...  In  common  things 
the  law  of  sacrifice  takes  the  form  of  positive  duty. 
A soldier  is  bound  to  stand  by  his  colors.  Every  one 
of  us  is  bound  to  speak  the  truth,  whatever  the  cost. 
But  beyond  the  limits  of  positive  enactment,  the  same 
rule,  and  the  same  rule  only,  leads  up  to  the  higher 
zones  of  character.  . . . From  the  sweeping  of  a 
door  to  the  governing  of  a country,  from  the  baking 
of  a loaf  to  the  watching  by  the  sick-bed  of  a friend, 
there  is  the  same  rule  everywhere.  . . . The  upward 
sweep  of  excellence  is  proportioned,  with  strictest 
accuracy,  to  the  oblivion  of  the  self  which  is  ascend- 
ing.” 

China  joins  us  in  this  verdict.  Mencius  writes; 
“Benevolence  is  the  distinguishing  characteristic  of 
man,”  and  Mo  Ti  half  a millennium  before  Christ 
recognized  love  as  the  one  power  which  could  save 
nations  from  external  and  internal  wars  and  bring 
outer  and  inner  peace  to  all  men. 

Turning  now  to  Professor  D.  S.  Cairns,  of  Scot- 
land, we  find  sacrifice  and  the  religious  motive  for 
sacrifice  presented  as  the  only  solution  of  the  diffi- 
culties which  confront  the  modern  world;  and  his 
position  is  buttressed  by  a solemn  appeal  to  history. 
“Have  nations  ever  been  great  except  by  virtue  of 


Short  Studies,  vol.  iii,  “Sea  Studies.” 


488  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


their  possessing  citizens  who  were  willing  to  subor- 
dinate their  private  interests  to  the  public  good?  Is 
not  the  great  palace  hall  of  history,  in  all  its  dim 
recesses  and  sunlit  spaces,  hung  with  the  portraits 
and  adorned  with  the  statues  and  blazoned  with  the 
names  of  those  who  lived  and  died  for  interests 
greater  than  their  own?  . . , The  one  hope  of 

better  days  lies  in  the  moralizing  of  industry  by  the 
spread  of  a new  conception  of  the  common  good. 
. . . It  is  only  in  such  a moral  transformation  that 
I can  see  any  hope  of  deliverance  from  present  and 
impending  evils.  . . . From  what  possible  source 

can  such  a transformation  come?  It  cannot  be  hoped 
for  from  the  progress  of  secular  education  alone. 
Education,  as  the  recent  course  of  events  in  Germany 
proves,  may  be  an  explosive  rather  than  a consolidat- 
ing force.  . . . Nor,  I submit,  can  the  change  be 
brought  about  by  any  purely  ethical  movement 
divorced  from  the  appeal  to  the  tremendous  sanctions 
of  the  divine  judgment  and  mercy  and  the  power  of 
the  world  to  come.  What  is  wanted  is  something 
which  will  appeal  not  only  to  the  desire  for  moral 
beauty  and  perfection,  but  something  which  will  invest 
the  ideal  in  its  loveliness  with  awful  and  commanding 
power.  The  work  to  be  done  is  too  vast  to  be  accom- 
plished by  anything  but  by  that  power  which  has  been 
the  great  historic  force  in  the  making  of  nations — 
the  power  of  religion.  Historic  investigation  has  only 
brought  out  with  increasing  clearness  the  immense 
part  which  religion  has  played  in  the  national  and 
social  life  of  man.  It  has  shown  that  the  classical 
civilizations  rested  upon  a religious  basis  and  that 


CHINA  AND  THE  WORLD  489 

they  fell  with  its  disintegration.  ...  It  has  shown 
how,  in  the  terrific  hurricane  of  the  barbaric  inva- 
sions, the  Catholic  synthesis  of  Christianity  formed 
the  basis*  of  the  new  social  order.  It  has  shown  how 
out  of  the  birth  of  Islam  there  arose  the  great  Moham- 
medan nations.  . . . Religion  with  its  tremendous 
sanctions  has  the  power,  which  no  other  force  pos- 
sesses, of  checking  and  transforming  egoistic  impulses 
so  that  it  makes  the  creation  and  the  working  of  great 
social  aggregates  not  only  possible  but  actual.  Hence 
religion  has  always  been  the  mother  of  nations. 
Every  new  religion  has  either  created  a new  type  of 
society  or  has  transformed  the  old.  . . . What  was 
it  that  enabled  Judah  to  transcend  the  social  and 
political  cataclysm  of  the  captivity?  It  was  the  pro- 
phetic synthesis  which  had  been  slowly  elaborated 
during  the  preceding  centuries.  . . . What  was  it 
finally  that  gave  rise  to  the  great  free  nations  of 
modern  days  with  their  civil  and  religious  liberties, 
their  industrial  energ}%  their  colonizing  power?  It 
was  the  new  Christian  synthesis  of  Wittenberg  and 
Geneva.” 

What  is  the  great  war  now  convulsing  Europe  and 
Asia,  threatening  Africa,  and  deeply  affecting  the  rest 
of  the  world  but  the  most  magnificent  illustration  his- 
tory ever  has  provided  of  patriotism — of  men  rising 
above  individual  selfishness  and  family  interests  and 
offering  by  the  ten  million  their  lives  upon  the  altar 
of  their  country?  What  is  it,  on  the  other  side,  but 
the  most  appalling  spectacle  furnished  by  human 

“ In  the  Contemporary  Review,  quoted  in  Littell’s  The  Living  Age,  No.  3112. 
February  27,  1909. 


490  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

history  of  a false  or,  at  the  best,  defective  type  of 
Christianity,  of  the  dire  effects  of  placing  the  flag 
above  the  cross,  and  national  selfishness  above  the 
interests  of  humanity?  The  twenty-one  American 
republics  have  been  driven  together  out  of  sheer  neces- 
sity. The  altruistic  cry,  “One  for  all,  all  for  one,”  is 
not  a Christian  platitude,  but  a political  necessity.  In 
the  language  of  Secretary  Lansing:  “Pan- American- 
ism is  an  expression  of  internationalism.  America 
has  become  the  expression  of  that  idea  which  in  the 
end  will  rule  the  world.”  The  day  is  at  hand  when 
Christianity,  with  its  teaching  that  God  hath  made  of 
one  all  who  dwell  upon  the  face  of  the  earth,  and  with 
its  high  commission  to  disciple  all  the  nations,  is  not 
only  practicable,  but  is  the  only  solution  possible  of 
the  problems  which  confront  us. 

The  question  naturally  arises  whether  with  the  deep 
need  of  the  application  of  the  teachings  of  the  New 
Testament  by  nations,  the  United  States  should  main- 
tain and  especially  increase  her  army  and  navy. 
Surely  we  should  not  build  a ship  or  enlist  a soldier 
for  purposes  of  aggression.  But  the  New  Testament 
does  not  sanction  anarchy  or  decry  the  use  of  force 
upon  the  part  of  the  State.  The  ruler  “beareth  not 
the  sword  in  vain;  for  he  is  a minister  of  God,  an 
avenger  for  wrath  to  him  that  doeth  evil.”  Rom. 
13.  4.  Since  the  State  as  well  as  the  Church  is  or- 
dained of  God,  it  should  have  sufficient  police  force  to 
uphold  justice  and  suppress  disorder  both  at  home  and 
in  international  relations.  We  are  unable  to  perceive 
any  fundamental  contradiction  between  the  principle 
of  justice  to  which  the  State  should  devote  itself  main- 


CHINA  AND  THE  WORLD 


491 


taining  this  principle  by  force  and  the  principle  of  love 
to  which  the  Church  should  devote  itself  maintaining 
this  principle  by  service.  In  this  connection  we  quote 
as  peculiarly  applicable  to  our  conditions  the  words  of 
Washington  in  an  address  to  both  Houses  of  Congress 
December  3,  1793:  “I  cannot  recommend  to  your 
notice  measures  for  the  fulfillment  of  our  duties  to 
the  rest  of  the  world  without  again  pressing  upon  you 
the  necessity  of  placing  ourselves  in  a condition  of 
complete  defence,  and  of  exacting  from  them  (other 
nations)  the  fulfillment  of  their  duties  toward  us.  The 
United  States  ought  not  to  indulge  a persuasion  that 
contrary  to  the  order  of  human  events  they  will  for- 
ever keep  at  a distance  those  painful  appeals  to  arms 
with  which  the  history  of  every  nation  abounds. 
There  is  a rank  due  these  United  States  among  nations 
which  will  be  withheld,  if  not  absolutely  lost  by  the 
reputation  for  weakness.  If  we  desire  to  avoid  insult, 
we  must  be  able  to  repel  it ; if  we  desire  to  secure  peace 
— one  of  the  most  powerful  incidents  of  our  rising 
prosperity,  it  must  be  known  that  we  are  at  all  times 
ready  for  war.” 

We  close  our  volume  as  we  began : to-day  our  eyes 
are  upon  the  welter  of  Europe;  to-morrow  we  shall 
be  wrestling  with  an  energy  born  of  desperation  with 
the  economic  effects  of  the  World  War.  But  the  day 
after  we  shall  face  the  struggle  of  the  white  and  the 
yellow  races.  Already  our  ship  of  state,  and  every 
other  ship  of  state,  is  entering  the  rapids.  We  lift 
our  faces  to  Christ  because  he  alone  can  furnish  the 
guidance  which  will  clear  the  rocks  and  the  pow'er 
which  will  bring  us  all  to  our  desired  haven. 


CHAPTER  XIX 


YUAN  SHIH  KAP 

Just  judgment  of  every  man  demands  that  the  ver- 
dict be  formed  in  the  light  of  the  civilization  in  which 
he  is  born  and  reared  and  the  standards  of  life  ac- 
cepted by  his  people.  This  consideration  should  be 
borne  in  mind  in  the  judgment  which  Western  Chris- 
tian nations  pass  upon  Yuan  Shih  Kai. 

Yuan  Shih  Kai  was  an  unusual  combination;  the 
son  of  the  Far  East,  he  revealed  many  traits  of  the 
American  people.  He  was  born  in  the  north  central 
portion  of  China.  He  was  the  son  of  a small  official. 
He  was  educated  by  an  uncle  who  had  also  been  in 
official  life.  Like  some  Western  boys,  his  mind  was 
too  original  to  run  in  the  mold  of  custom,  especially  as 
the  system  of  Chinese  education  at  that  time  con- 
sisted of  memorizing  characters  without  any  under- 
standing on  the  boy’s  part  of  the  meaning  of  the  char- 
acters whose  names  he  learned.  The  brilliant  Chinese 
boy  rebelled  at  this  process  and  did  not  master  the 
tasks  assigned  to  him  by  his  uncle,  and  failed  in  his 
examinations,  just  as  Darwin  was  an  indifferent 
scholar  at  Cambridge  and  Emerson  at  Harvard. 

. Missing  the  civil  service  and  political  life.  Yuan 
Shih  Kai  again  displayed  his  originality  by  choosing 

■An  address  delivered  by  Bishop  J.  W.  Bashford,  LL.D.,  of  Peking,  China,  at  Washing- 
ton, D.  C.,  by  the  invitation  of  the  Chinese  Minister  on  the  occasion  of  the  memorial 
services  to  the  late  President  of  the  Chinese  Republic, 

492 


YUAN  SHTH  KAI 


493 


a military  career.  Military  life  was  held  in  small 
esteem  in  China;  indeed,  the  Chinese  always  reckoned 
soldiers  along  with  servants.  But  Yuan  Shih  Kai  had 
an  intuition  that  military  training  might  be  essential 
for  his  future  advancement.  The  young  officer’s  ability 
soon  impressed  Li  Hung  Chang,  China’s  best-known 
statesman  of  the  nineteenth  century;  and  he  made 
Yuan  Shih  Kai  his  protege  and  soon  transferred  him 
to  civil  life.  With  the  patience,  reserve,  and  lack  of 
political  scruples,  which  characterized  Li  Hung 
Chang,  Yuan  combined  the  industry,  the  ability,  the 
power  of  initiative,  and  the  willingness  to  take  respon- 
sibility, which  are  essential  to  true  greatness.  Hence 
he  rose  rapidly  in  official  positions  and  soon  became 
the  representative  of  China  in  Korea,  where  Japan 
and  China  were  struggling  for  the  headship. 

(i)  Experience  in  Korea  taught  Yuan  Shih  Kai 
the  value  of  WYstern  civilization.  He  had  never 
been  outside  of  China  until  he  entered  Korea,  and 
he  entirely  under-estimated  the  material  power  of 
the  Western  applied  sciences,  and  especially  of  West- 
ern military  science,  and  he  felt  confident  that  China 
would  triumph  over  Japan  in  a military  struggle.  In 
the  war  between  China  and  Japan  in  1894-95,  China 
suffered  a humiliating  defeat.  Yuan  Shih  Kai  was  an 
apt  learner,  and  the  advantages  of  Western  military 
training  were  burned  into  his  soul.  Immediately  on 
returning  to  China  he  secured  permission  from  the 
governor  to  train  Chinese  troops  by  Western  methods. 
He  selected  German  officers  as  the  best  qualified  mili- 
tary experts,  and  through  their  aid  he  gradually  de- 
veloped in  North  China  the  best  trained  and  equipped 


494  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

army  which  China  had  ever  known.  His  successes 
in  training  the  army  led  to  his  appointment  as  ruler  of 
Tientsin,  and  he  so  modernized  the  city  as  to  make 
Tientsin  for  the  time  being  the  model  city  of  China. 
He  also  was  made  viceroy  of  the  province  and  he  intro- 
duced a modern  educational  system  into  Chihli,  and 
soon  had  three  hundred  thousand  children  attending 
the  public  schools  of  the  province.  Later,  when  the 
dowager  empress  had  proclaimed  her  purpose  of  ulti- 
mately establishing  representative  government,  he  ap- 
pointed meetings  for  public  discussions  of  political 
questions  and  trained  the  people  for  democratic  institu- 
tions by  establishing  in  Tientsin  the  first  formal  elec- 
tions after  the  Western  model  which  were  held  in 
China. 

Part  of  these  reforms  were  begun  under  the 
reign  of  the  Emperor  Kwangsu.  It  is  quite  probable 
that  the  Kwangsu  reform  spirit  helped  to  start  Yuan 
Shill  Kai  upon  his  reform  policy.  In  1898  the  crisis 
arose  between  Kwangsu  and  the  dowager  empress, 
and  the  young  emperor,  perhaps  misled  by  the  reform 
zeal  of  Yuan  Shih  Kai,  appealed  to  him  for  military 
support.  Yuan  Shih  Kai’s  originality  in  choosing  a 
military  career  was  now  justified.  He  had  charge  of 
the  largest  and  best-trained  army  in  China,  and  the 
soldiers  were  very  loyal  to  him.  Kwangsu  was  com- 
pelled to  appeal  to  Yuan  Shih  Kai  because  Yuan  Shih 
Kai  alone  had  the  power  to  make  good  his  decision  as 
between  the  dowager  empress,  who  had  retired,  and 
the  young  emperor.  Kwangsu  was  an  agitator  rather 
than  a wise  reformer.  At  best  he  was  a Wendell  Phil- 
lips, not  an  Abraham  Lincoln;  a Mazzini,  not  a 


YUAN  SHIH  KAI 


495 


Cavour,  During  the  three  weeks,  September  i to  21, 
1898,  Kwangsu  issued  fifteen  decrees,  practically  over- 
turning the  existing  civilization  in  China  and  revolu- 
tionizing Chinese  institutions.  Not  only  the  Manchus 
but  the  Chinese  were  amazed.  Consternation  filled  all 
classes  and  a counter  revolution  was  at  once  headed 
by  the  retired  dowager  empress,  who  had  placed  the 
scepter  in  the  hands  of  her  adopted  son,  Kwangsu,  and 
now  demanded  it  back  again.  She  was  the  ablest 
woman  who  had  ever  ruled  China,  and  one  of  the 
ablest  who  ever  ruled  any  country. 

Yuan  Shill  Kai  perceived  at  once  that  the  immense 
population  of  China  could  not  be  transformed  into  a 
new  nation  and  a new  civilization  created  by  mere 
paper  pronunciamentos  issued  at  the  rate  of  five  per 
week.  He  promptly  decided  for  the  dowager  empress 
and  restored  her  to  the  throne,  leaving  Kwangsu  the 
nominal  ruler,  but  a virtual  prisoner  for  the  next  ten 
years.  In  his  career  thus  far  Yuan  Shih  Kai  had  dis- 
played remarkable  ability,  industry,  power  of  initia- 
tive, and  willingness  to  take  responsibility  and  through 
these  qualities  he  had  reached  the  headship  of  the 
army,  and  through  the  army  he  was  in  reality  the  most 
powerful  man  in  the  empire. 

(2)  Foreign  nations  soon  discovered  that  in  addi- 
tion to  the  virtues  named.  Yuan  Shih  Kai  possessed 
one  other  virtue,  namely,  reliability.  At  this  point 
again  he  exhibited  a striking  combination  of  the  East 
and  the  West.  Western  people  think  reliability  a 
peculiarly  Western  virtue.  But  in  business  aflairs  the 
Chinese  are  perhaps  more  reliable  than  Americans. 
In  political  affairs  it  has  become  almost  a proverb  in 


496  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

America  that  platforms  are  made  to  be  broken.  Yuan 
Shih  Kai  exhibited  a grasp  of  a profound  principle 
when  he  applied  to  politics  the  virtue  of  reliability  so 
essential  to  business  success.  He  gained  immense  in- 
fluence at  home  and  abroad  by  the  general  conviction 
that  he  would  carry  out  his  promises. 

It  is  true  that  Yuan  Shih  Kai  broke  faith  with  the 
young  emperor,  Kwangsu.  As  already  remarked, 
Kwangsu  leaned  upon  Yuan  Shih  Kai  because  the  sol- 
diers of  the  north  were  loyal  to  him  and  because  he 
knew  Yuan  Shih  Kai  largely  held  the  destiny  of  China 
in  his  hands ; hence  the  only  man  to  whom  Kwangsu 
could  turn  in  the  crisis  he  had  brought  upon  the  empire 
was  Yuan  Shih  Kai.  Moreover,  under  Chinese  cus- 
tom, Kwangsu  ought  not  to  have  taken  the  throne 
while  the  former  ruler  was  alive.  The  ruler  is  the 
father  and  the  mother  of  the  people,  and  under  Chinese 
law  has  the  power  of  life  and  death  over  every  subject. 
But  in  the  family  the  father  has  supreme  control  and  in 
the  case  of  the  father’s  death  the  mother  has  supreme 
control  over  the  children,  extending  under  certain  con- 
ditions to  the  power  of  life  and  death.  Hence  China 
was  at  that  moment,  with  Kwangsu  at  its  head,  but 
with  a mother  who  had  adopted  him  and  made  him 
emperor,  and  who  herself  had  been  the  recent  ruler, 
still  living,  a double-headed  nation.  Hence,  under 
Chinese  custom,  it  was  at  least  a question  whether 
Kwangsu  ought  to  surrender  the  scepter  to  his  mother 
when  she  demanded  its  return.  At  any  rate,  so  Yuan 
Shih  Kai  decided,  and  accordingly  Kwangsu  made 
the  surrender;  and  historians  will  record  that  Yuan 
Shih  Kai  rendered  China  a patriotic  service  in  this 


YUAN  SHIH  KAI 


497 

crisis  by  saving  her  from  a revolution.  This  was  his 
first  notable  service  to  his  country. 

(3)  A little  later,  when  the  Chinese  were  driven 
to  madness  by  unjust  foreign  oppression,  and  the 
dowager  empress  in  her  despair  cast  in  her  lot  with  the 
Boxers,  four  men,  Li  Hung  Chang,  Chang  Chih  Tung, 
Yuan  Shill  Kai  and  Jung  Lu,  suppressed  the  uprising 
against  foreigners  in  their  provinces,  thereby  in  most 
cases  saving  the  missionaries,  the  merchants  and  the 
foreign  officials  from  massacre,  and  thereby  also  sav- 
ing the  Chinese  nation  from  overthrow  and  partition 
among  foreign  nations.  Here  is  another  crisis  in 
which  Yuan  Shih  Kai  showed  his  willingness  to  as- 
sume responsibility;  and  posterity  will  give  him  credit 
for  another  act  of  statesmanship  and  patriotism. 

(4)  The  fourth  crisis  came  in  the  revolution  of  191 1. 
In  1908  the  old  dowager  empress  passed  by  Prince  Pu 
Lun,  who  under  the  Manchti  House  Laws  was  entitled 
to  the  throne,  in  favor  of  Pu  Yi,  the  son  of  her  nephew 
and  of  Jung  Lu’s  daughter.  Yuan  Shih  Kai  openly 
and  earnestly,  and  on  two  occasions,  in  the  presence 
of  the  dowager  empress,  protested  against  this  choice 
of  one  of  her  relations,  a mere  infant,  and  not  the 
legitimate  heir  to  the  throne,  as  emperor ; and  warned 
the  dowager  empress  that  the  empire  could  not  be 
held  together  until  Pu  Yi  became  of  age.  But  Tzu  Hsi 
was  willful  and  would  not  listen  to  her  great  minister. 
Only  two  members  of  the  Council  voted  with  him. 
The  rest  followed  the  dowager  empress’s  wishes,  and 
Pu  Yi  was  made  emperor  and  his  father.  Prince 
Chun,  was  made  the  regent.  Prince  Chun  on  receiving 
the  scepter  permitted  Yuan  Shih  Kai  to  return  to  his 


498  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

old  home  in  Honan;  and  three  years  later,  when 
Yuan’s  forecast  of  the  downfall  of  the  dynasty  was 
rapidly  becoming  a reality,  Prince  Chun  appealed  to 
him  to  come  out  of  his  retirement  and  save  them.  Yuan 
Shih  Kai  returned  to  Peking  slowly  but  reluctantly 
and  came  back  to  save  the  nation  first,  and  then  the 
dynasty  if  possible ; he  soon  found  it  necessary  to  give 
up  the  dynasty  in  order  to  save  the  nation,  and  here 
again  posterity  will  regard  his  act  as  wise  and 
patriotic. 

(5)  Yuan  Shih  Kai  next  faced  the  problem  of  a 
monarchy  or  a republic.  Personally,  he  knew  nothing 
of  a republic  and  favored  a monarchy,  and  later,  like 
Cromwell,  showed  his  contempt  of  legislative  restraint 
by  expelling  the  majority  of  the  Parliament  and  ruling 
with  the  aid  of  a Council,  which  he  himself  selected. 
In  attempting  in  the  revolution  of  1911  to  reach  a de- 
cision as  to  a monarchy  or  a republic,  we  have  been 
told  that  Yuan  Shih  Kai  conferred  in  a private  capacity 
with  many  of  the  foreign  leaders  in  Peking  and  that 
he  was  advised  by  them  to  establish  a constitutional 
monarchy.  If  he  consulted  foreigners,  advice  in  favor 
of  a monarchy  would  naturally  be  given  by  all  repre- 
sentatives of  monarchical  institutions,  while  even 
Americans  might  feel  that  the  Chinese  were  not  yet 
ready  for  a republic.  Hence,  at  the  beginning  of  the 
struggle  between  the  republicans  and  the  monarchists. 
Yuan  Shih  Kai  was  struggling  upon  the  side  of 
monarchy. 

In  this  crisis,  it  was  Li  Yuan  Hung,  the  new  presi- 
dent, who  saved  the  republic.  Li  was  now  in  command 
of  the  most  vigorous  portion  of  the  army — that  por- 


YUAN  Slllli  KAI 


499 


tion  which  did  most  of  the  hard  fighting  for  the  re- 
public, Li  Yuan  Hung  held  that  not  only  must  the 
Manchus  be  dethroned,  but  a republic  must  be  estab- 
lished; and  the  only  alternative  which  Li  Yuan  LIung 
proposed  was  the  continuance  of  the  war.  Li  Yuan 
Hung  was  not  ambitious  for  the  presidency  for  him- 
self and  suggested  that  Yuan  Shih  Kai  should  be  made 
the  head  of  the  new  republic.  Partly  to  save  China 
from  civil  war  and  partly  from  ambition,  Yuan  Shih 
Kai  compromised  on  the  republic  with  himself  as  presi- 
dent. He  is  said  to  have  told  his  friends  that  neither 
he  nor  any  other  man  could  found  a dynasty,  and  he 
often  said  that  he  would  rather  be  like  Washington, 
the  father  of  a republic,  than  to  attempt  to  found  a 
dynasty  like  Napoleon. 

(6)  On  assuming  the  headship  of  the  republic,  he 
at  once  confronted  the  problem  which  the  American 
nation  has  faced  for  more  than  a hundred  years, 
namely,  the  relation  between  the  national  government 
and  the  provinces.  Professor  Seeley,  of  Cambridge, 
says  that  nationalism  has  been  the  key  to  the  political 
history  of  the  Western  world  during  the  nineteenth 
century;  that  it  was  the  national  spirit  which  led  to 
the  formation  of  the  twenty-six  petty  kingdoms  of 
Germany  into  the  German  empire ; that  it  was  national- 
ism which  led  to  the  union  of  the  eight  kingdoms  of 
Italy  into  the  Italian  kingdom ; that  it  was  nationalism 
which  led  to  the  triumph  of  the  union  in  the  American 
struggle  between  the  North  and  the  South,  i86i- 
65 ; that  it  was  the  national  spirit  which  has  led  to  the 
union  of  the  far-flung  colonies  of  Great  Britain  into 
an  imperial  government.  Is  it  not  striking  that  Yuan 


500  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

Shill  Kai,  without  travel  in  the  Western  world  and 
without  a knowledge  of  Western  history,  yet  had 
learned  from  Chinese  history  the  necessity  of  welding 
the  semi-independent  provinces  of  China  into  a nation 
and  that  he  did  much  to  establish  the  nation  upon  a 
firmer  and  larger  foundation. 

(7)  We  are  sorry  that  in  the  recent  crisis  Yuan 
Shill  Kai  failed  the  republican  cause  and  apparently 
temporarily  abandoned  his  convictions.  He  made  the 
fatal  blunder  of  attempting  to  restore  the  monarchy 
and  to  found  a dynasty.  Immediately  the  people  of 
the  southern  and  western  parts  of  China  arose  for  their 
liberties;  and  in  a short  time  even  Yuan  Shih  Kai 
was  convinced  that  he  had  made  a stupendous  blunder. 
Hence,  he  openly  retracted  his  proposal  to  restore  the 
monarchy  and  proclaimed  again  his  allegiance  to  the 
republic.  But  he  had  lost  the  confidence  of  the  people, 
and  the  strain  of  the  crisis  in  addition  to  the  tremen- 
dous burdens  resting  upon  him  cost  his  life.  On  his 
deathbed  he  confessed  his  mistake  in  attempting  to 
restore  the  monarchy,  and  instead  of  making  any 
attempt  to  put  his  son  upon  the  throne  announced  to 
the  world  that  Li  Yuan  Hung,  the  regularly  elected 
vice-president,  should  succeed  him  in  the  presidency. 

It  is  unfair  to  demand  an  understanding  of  repub- 
lican institutions  and  much  more  unfair  to  demand 
government  according  to  republican  ideals  upon  the 
part  of  one  who  received  a purely  Chinese  education, 
and  only  a modicum  of  that,  and,  above  all,  a man 
trained  in  despotism  under  so  strong  a sovereign  as 
Tzu  Hsi.  While  Yuan  Shih  Kai  unquestionably  was 
patriotic  and  showed  great  strength  and  wisdom  in 


YUAN  sum  KAI 


501 

preserving  the  independence  and  integrity  of  China, 
nevertheless  he  furnishes  one  of  the  strongest  illus- 
trations in  history  of  the  inherent  evil  of  despotic  rule. 
He  held,  according  to  the  old  and  accepted  theory  of 
Chinese  monarchy,  that  the  ruler,  as  father  and  mother 
of  his  people,  had  power  of  life  and  death  over  his 
subjects:  and  he  exercised  this  right  when  he  thought 
the  interests  of  the  nation  called  for  such  exercise. 
Personally,  we  share  the  general  conviction  that  some 
who  plotted  against  his  authority,  or  against  what 
they  regarded  as  the  abuse  of  his  authority,  were  put 
to  death.  Recalcitrant  subjects  met  assassination 
with  attempts  at  assassination.  This  right  also  is  con- 
ceded in  ancient  China  as  the  necessary  check  to 
despotic  abuses : Mencius  framed  the  motto,  “Killing 
a bad  monarch  is  no  murder.”  Under  mutual  attempts 
at  assassination  fear  displaces  trust,  and  good  order 
and  safety  disappear.  Thus  Yuan  Shih  Kai  found 
himself  at  the  last  facing  rebellion  on  every  side  when 
the  external  dangers  of  China  demanded  a united  na- 
tion and  a strong  government.  Li  Yuan  Hung  has 
before  him  an  impressive  lesson  of  the  dangers  in- 
herent in  the  very  nature  of  despotism,  no  matter 
how  able  and  patriotic  the  ruler. 

There  is  hope  for  China.  For  centuries  the  Chinese 
people  have  been  accustomed  to  local  self-government 
in  the  villages  and  wards  which  compose  the  Hsiens 
or  counties.  This  has  given  China  a fine  preparation 
for  the  successful  founding  of  national  democracy. 
Again,  the  responsibility  of  the  entire  family  or  clan 
for  crime  committed  by  any  of  its  members  is  another 
providential  preparation  of  a great  people  for  free 


502  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

institutions.  The  democratic  organization  of  the 
guilds  and  the  creation  and  democratic  administration 
of  the  commercial  and  industrial  legislation  of  China 
by  these  guilds  is  the  highest  preparation  for  republi- 
can institutions. 

With  the  enduring  character  of  the  Chinese  civiliza- 
tion, with  a partial  Western  training  of  Li  Yuan 
Hung  through  Japan,  and  with  his  unquestioned  patri- 
otism, with  the  very  capable  young  men  of  Western 
training  and  devoted  patriotism  who  represent  China 
at  all  the  leading  capitals  of  the  world,  and  with  the 
large  number  of  young  men  with  Western  training  and 
Christian  character  now  found  in  China  rallying 
around  the  standard  of  Li  Yuan  Hung,  with  the  gen- 
erous support  of  many  foreign  governments  and  with 
our  own  government  never  more  generously  support- 
ing China  than  at  present,  with  the  slow  but  reason- 
ably certain  development  of  parliamentary  institutions, 
with  the  providential  preparation  for  a republic  al- 
ready named,  and,  above  all,  with  that  Divine  Provi- 
dence which  guides  the  course  and  shapes  the  destiny 
of  nations,  we  may  trust  that  China  will  emerge  into 
modern  civilization  and  take  her  place  among  the 
great  nations  of  the  earth. 


APPENDIX  I 


Sec  Chapter  I 

POPULATION  OF  CHINA 

38  Censuses:  B.  C.  1766-A.  D.  1902 

The  data  arc  insufficient  for  even  an  approximate  esti- 
mate of  the  present  population  of  China.  The  estimates 
vary  from  270,000,000  by  the  late  W.  W.  Rockhill,  to 

439.000. 000  by  the  Statesman’s  Year  Book.  iMost  competent 
Chinese  and  foreign  authorities  are  inclined  to  place  the 
present  population  of  China  at  between  300,000,000  and 

400.000. 000  people,  and  we  accept  this  estimate.  So  fre- 
quently have  taxes  been  levied  in  China  on  estimates  of 
the  population,  and  so  strong  is  the  temptation  for  the  head 
men  of  the  villages  and  wards  to  report  fewer  people  than 
inhabit  these  villages,  that  China  has  laws  punishing  officials 
for  understating  the  population,  but  none  for  overstating  it. 
These  facts  incline  S.  Wells  Williams,  in  The  Middle  King- 
dom, to  the  view  that  the  reports  of  China’s  population  are 
not  overestimates.  The  estimates  given  by  the  Imperial 
Customs  Service  for  China  under  Sir  Robert  Hart,  com- 
pleted by  the  statistics  from  the  Statesman’s  Year  Book  for 
1907,  give  a population  of  428,500,000  with  11,000,000  for 
the  dependencies. 

Upon  the  other  side,  every  one  familiar  with  the  Chinese 
knows  the  looseness  with  which  they  report  figures.  The 
wide  variations  in  the  official  estimates  of  the  population  of 
China  show  that  this  looseness  attaches  to  the  reports  of 
population  despite  the  fact  that  carelessness  in  these  figures 
costs  the  people  an  increase  in  taxation.  The  following  is 

503 


504  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

the  estimate  of  population  for  the  provinces  upon  which 
the  Boxer  indemnity  was  divided  and  imposed  upon  them ; 


PROVINCE 

AREA 

SQUARE 

POPULATION 

POPULATION 
PER  SQUARE 

Anhwei 

MILES 

55,000 

24,000,000 

MILE 

432 

Chekiang 

37,000 

12,000,000 

316 

Chihli 

115,000 

21,000,000 

172 

Fukien 

46,000 

23,000,000 

494 

Heilungkiang 

140,000 

2,000,000 

14 

Honan 

68,000 

35,000,000 

520 

Hunan 

83,000 

22,000,000 

266 

Hupeh 

71,000 

35,000,000 

492 

Kansu 

125,000 

10,000,000 

82 

Kiangsi 

69,000 

27,000,000 

382 

Kiangsu 

39,000 

14,000,000 

362 

Kirin 

90,000 

7,000,000 

77 

Kwangsi 

77,000 

5,000,000 

67 

Kwantung 

100,000 

67,000 

32,000,000 

320 

Kweichow 

8,000,000 

1 14 

Shansi 

82,000 

12,000,000 

38,000,000 

149 

Shantung 

56,000 

683 

Shengking 

50,000 

12,000,000 

240 

Shensi 

75,000 

8,500,000 

III 

Szechwan 

218,000 

69,000,000 

314 

Yunnan 

146,000 

12,000,000 

84 

Dependencies,  including 
what  is  now  the  Prov- 
ince of  Sinkiang 

2,590,000 

11,000,000 

4 

4,399,000 

439.500,000 

Av.  100  — 

This  gives  a total  estimate  of  439,500,000  as  the  population 
of  China.  But  as  the  best  authorities,  especially  within 
recent  years,  regard  these  estimates  as  too  high,  we  shall 
follow  throughout  the  volume  the  estimates  given  in  the 
China  Year  Book  for  1914,  namely,  331,000,000. 

The  following  data  are  gathered  largely  by  Werner  in 
his  Descriptive  Sociology  of  the  Chinese.  The  page  and 
column  in  which  the  estimates  are  found  in  his  book  are 
given,  and  a reference  to  that  book  will  show  the  authorities 
from  which  he  quotes.  The  data  show  that  the  Chinese 
have  been  accustomed  to  gather  statistics  of  households  and 
of  “mouths”  since  B.  C.  1766.  Our  first  study  of  the.se 
statistics  led  to  a general  distrust  of  China’s  statistics  of 
population  because  of  their  sudden  and  wide  variations.  But 


APPENDIX  I 


505 


further  study  gives  us  added  confidence  in  their  general 
reliability,  because  a study  of  Chinese  history  shows  that 
the  variations  in  almost  every  case  are  accounted  for  by  wars 
and  the  varying  amounts  of  territory  and  population  which 
are  included  or  excluded  in  the  reckoning.  Were  the  statistics 
artificial,  they  would  show  greater  uniformity.  Again,  the 
wide  variations  in  the  number  of  households  as  compared 
with  the  “mouths”  is  explained  by  the  historians  as  due  to 
different  methods  of  reckoning  the  heads  of  households,  in 
some  cases  the  actual  number  of  households  being  reckoned, 
while  in  other  cases  every  head  who  paid  taxes.  An  analysis 
of  the  census  tables  in  the  light  of  Chinese  history  does  not 
discredit  them  so  much  as  a hasty  glance  at  them  tends  to  do. 


DATE 

HOUSEHOLDS 

POPULATION 

wb:KM2;K 
PAGE  COL.; 

B.  C.  1766 

3,221,212 

39 

3 

B. C.  240 

13.704.923 

42 

I 

B. C.  212 

10,000,000 

43 

3 

A.  D.  2 

12,233,062 

59,594.978 

43 

3 

A.  D.  39 

0 

. 

A.  D.  221-589 

a 

Under  the  Three  Kingdoms 

4,432,8816 

44 

2 

Under  the  Tsin  (Chin) .... 

16,163,863 

44 

2 

Under  the  Wei 

3,375.3686 

44 

2 

Under  the  Tsi  (Chi) 

9,009,6406 

44 

2 

A.  D.  609 

8,700,000 

47,000,000 

45 

2 

A.  D.  652 

3,800,000 

6 

A.  D.  733 

7,861,236 

45,431.263 

45 

2 

A.  D.  755 

9.619.254 

52,880,488 

45 

2 

A.  D.  820 

2,400,000 

1 6,000,000c 

45 

2 

A.  D.  1014 

9.055.729 

21,976,965^ 

46 

2 

A.  D. 1088 

18,289,385 

32,163,017^ 

46 

2 

A.  D.  1097 

19.435.570 

33,401, 6o6d 

46 

2 

A.  D.  1102-1111 

20,910,000 

43,8io,oood 

46 

3 

A.  D.  1183 

615.629 

6,158,636c 

46 

3 

A.  D.  1190 

6,939.000 

45,447.900/ 

46 

3 

a — Statistics  of  arable  land  and  population  ordered,  but  no  report  found. 
b — Embraced  only  a portion  of  China. 

c — This  excludes  Szechwan,  Kweichow,  the  two  Kiang  provinces,  and 
Annam. 

d — Probably  taxpayers — not  “mouths”;  compare  Simcox,  Miss  E.  J., 
Primitive  Ci'vulizations. 

e — A small  portion  of  the  empire  south  of  the  Yangtze  (vol.  ii,  p.  168). 
/ — Evidently  the  population  in  this  census  is  reckoned  by  mouths,  and 
not  by  taxpayers.  Some  think  the  figures  for  the  farmlies  represent 
the  heads  of  households  who  paid  taxes. 


Cn 


o6  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


DATE 

HOUSEHOLDS 

POPULATION 

WERNER 

PAGE 

COL. 

A.  D.  1195 

48,490,000^ 

46 

3 

A.  D.  1235 

873,781 

4.754.975^ 

47 

I 

A.  D.  1264 

5.696,989 

13,206,532^ 

46 

3 

A.  D.  1275 

9,370,472 

19,721,915ft 

47 

I 

A.  D.  1391 

10,684,435 

56,744,561^ 

48 

2 

A.  D.  1393 

16,052,860 

60,545,8127 

48 

2 

A.  D.  1491 

9,113,446 

53,281,158 

48 

2 

A.  D.  1578 

10,621,436 

60,692,856 

48 

2 

A.  D.  1644 

50,000,000 

50 

3 

A.  D.  1651 

10,633,326 

SO 

1 

A.  D.  1735 

60,000,000 

50 

3 

A.  D.  1741 

143,411,559 

50 

3 

A.  D.  1792 

300,000,000ft 

50 

3 

A.  D.  1842 

419,600,000 

50 

3 

A.  D.  1851 

432,164,047 

50 

3 

A.  D.  1894 

421,800,000 

50 

3 

A.  D.  1902 

426,000,000 

50 

3 

A.  D.  1904 

428,500,000 

g — Possibly  the  large  increase  reported  1190  and  1195  represents  the 
temporary  reconquests  by  Kao-tsung;  compare  S.  Wells  Williams, 
The  Middle  Kingdom  (vol.  ii,  p.  175). 

h — Apparently  simply  subjects  who  remained  loyal  to  Ning-tsung;  com- 
pare Ibid. 

i — Increase  due  to  Hupeh,  Hunan,  Kiangsi,  Chekiang,  and  Kiangsu 
being  added  to  the  empire  under  Kublai  Khan:  brought  the 
population  up  to  about  50,000,000,  as  shown  by  next  census. 
E.  H.  Parker,  China:  Her  History,  Diplomacy,  and  Commerce, 
p.  188. 

j — Increase  due  to  further  conquests. 

k — Increase  due  to  a growth  of  population  and  expansion  of  territory 
by  conquests  imder  Kien-lung;  compare  Demetrius  Boulger,  Short 
History  of  China,  p.  179. 


APPENDIX  II 


See  Chapter  I 

VEGETABLE  OILS 

The  Chinese  extract  oil  from  fish  and  animal  fat,  and 
from  the  following  vegetables  or  their  seeds : almond,  anise, 
apricot,  bean,  beech,  cabbage,  camellia,  cananga,  canarium, 
cassia,  castor-bean,  chaulmoogra,  chestnut,  cinnamon,  clove, 
cocoanut,  cotton,  crocus,  flax,  hazelnut,  hemp,  jasmine, 
lentils,  linseed,. lime,  mint,  peanut,  peppermint,  persimmon, 
pine,  rape,  roses,  safflower,  sesame,  sunflower,  tea-oil  tree, 
walnut.  In  addition  to  these  there  are  six  valuable  oil- 
producing  trees  of  the  sponge  family,  though  the  oil  is  not 
used  for  food. 


507 


APPENDIX  III 


See  Chapter  I 

METHODS  OF  IRRIGATION  IN  CHINA 

First.  Gravity.  The  Chinese  show  great  skill  in  damming 
their  streams,  deflecting  them  along  the  courses  which  they 
desire  them  to  take,  and  thus  conducting  them  to  the  fields 
which  they  wish  to  irrigate.  For  instance,  the  headwaters 
of  the  Fu,  or  Min  River,  above  Chengtu,  in  the  Szechwan 
Province,  are  divided  by  bamboo  baskets  filled  with  stones 
so  as  to  carry  such  proportions  of  water  as  the  farmers 
desire  to  different  parts  of  the  plain. 

Second.  Water  wheels  operated  by  water.  These  are 
caused  to  revolve  by  the  flowing  stream  and  thus  lift  the 
water  in  hollow  bamboo  joints  fastened  to  the  rim  of  the 
wheel  to  the  height  desired.  We  have  seen  such  wheels  forty 
feet  in  diameter. 

Third.  Water  wheels  operated  by  animals.  A common 
method  of  operating  the  water  wheel  is  by  the  use  of  a cow 
blindfolded  and  fastened  to  the  lever  which  causes  the  wheel 
to  revolve  and  trained  to  keep  steadily  walking  by  being 
hit  with  a whip  whenever  she  stops.  After  a little  training 
the  farmer  is  enabled  to  engage  in  other  work  near  by  and 
yet  keep  the  cow  at  her  task. 

Fourth.  Direct  human  labor.  Farmers  largely  irrigate 
their  fields  by  their  own  efforts.  A common  method  in 
northern  China  is  the  use  of  an  old-fashioned  well  sweep 
with  a bucket  fastened  to  the  end  of  it.  A more  popular 
method  in  southern  China  is  the  use  of  a wooden  chain- 
pump  very  simply  constructed  and  carried  on  the  shoulders 

508 


APPENDIX  III 


509 


to  the  pond  from  which  the  farmer  wishes  to  pump  the 
water  to  his  field;  and  then  operated  by  his  feet  after  the 
manner  of  the  treadmill.  The  Chinese  often  construct  a 
larger  chain-pump,  which  requires  two  or  three  men  to  work 
it.  Professor  King,  page  298,  shows  that  by  the  treadmill 
method  a season’s  supply  of  sixteen  inches  of  water  can  be 
put  on  an  acre  by  human  labor  at  a cost  of  from  seventy- 
seven  to  ninety-six  cents,  gold. 

A fifth  method  of  lifting  water  from  a shallow  pond 
located  near  a field  is  by  the  swinging  of  a bucket  by  two 
men,  very  much  after  the  fashion  of  children  swinging  the 
rope  in  our  American  game  of  skipping  the  rope.  The  men 
use  two  ropes,  however,  one  fastened  to  each  side  of  the 
bucket,  and  as  the  bucket  rises  to  the  level  of  the  field  it  is 
tipped  by  a skillful  pull  of  the  ropes  and  the  water  landed 
on  the  field  four  or  five  feet  above  the  pond. 

Sixth.  But  the  chief  method  of  irrigation  in  China  is 
through  the  construction  of  canals  as  mentioned  in  the  text. 


APPENDIX  IV 


See  Chapter  I 

LIST  OF  SPECIES  OF  PLANTS,  VEGETABLES, 
ROOTS,  BERRIES,  FRUITS,  ETC.,  USED  FOR 
FOOD  IN  CHINA 

We  began  twelve  years  ago  collecting,  through  mission- 
aries and  Chinese,  lists  of  all  products  of  the  earth  used  in 
China  for  food.  The  list  doubtless  is  larger  than  in  other 
countries,  first,  because  the  necessities  of  the  immense  popu- 
lation lead  the  Chinese  to  use  as  food  many  plants  which 
people  of  other  lands  treat  as  weeds.  But,  second,  the  far 
southern  sweep  of  China,  giving  the  people  subtropical 
fruits  and  plants  not  produced  in  Europe  and  the  United 
States,  together  with  their  mountains,  furnishing  them  a 
range  of  climate  from  the  tropics  to  the  poles,  the  abundant 
rainfall,  and  the  great  stretches  of  alluvial  soil,  together 
with  Chinese  skill  in  discovering  food  plants  and  in  irrigat- 
ing, fertilizing  and  cultivating  plants,  and  their  simple 
tastes  uncorrupted  by  any  large  use  of  condiments,  all  com- 
bined, give  them  a list  of  food  plants  which  astonished  us 
by  their  number.  Thus  far  we  have  ascertained  the  botani- 
cal names  of  478  species  of  plants,  including  fruits,  nuts, 
tubers,  etc.,  used  for  human  food  in  China.  In  addition, 
we  have  the  Chinese  names  of  thirty-two  species  whose 
botanical  names  we  have  not  yet  ascertained.  This  does 
not  include  varieties,  of  which  in  some  cases  there  are  a 
dozen  or  more  for  a species,  or  of  some  species  whose 
Chinese  names  we  cannot  learn ; and  we  are  sure  that  our 
list  is  not  exhaustive.  The  Britannica  says : “The  vegetation 

510 


APPENDIX  IV 


5^1 

of  China  is  exceedingly  rich,  no  fewer  than  9,000  species 
of  flowering  plants  having  been  enumerated,  of  which  nearly 
one  half  are  endemic,  or  not  known  to  occur  elsewhere. 
Whole  provinces  are  as  yet  only  partially  explored;  and 
the  total  flora  is  estimated  to  comprise  ultimately  12,000 
species.”^  E.  H.  Wilson,  who  has  spent  fifteen  years  in 
botanical  explorations  in  China  and  has  made  the  largest 
recent  contributions  to  our  knowledge  of  her  plant  life,  told 
us  in  1911  that  he  thinks  China  will  be  found  to  contain 
at  least  15,000  species  of  plants  when  the  botanical  survey 
is  complete.  As  China  thus  has  nearly  twice  as  many  species 
of  plants  as  Europe  or  the  United  States,  and  inasmuch  as 
long  experience  and  stern  necessity  have  made  the  Chinese 
skillful  in  selecting  and  developing  plants  for  food,  we 
think  that  their  list  of  food  plants  is  much  larger  than  the 
list  of  plants  cultivated  for  food  in  the  United  States,  and 
that  China  will  continue  to  surpass  us.  \W  have  arranged 
the  species  in  alphabetical  order,  and  again  the  plants  under 
each  species  in  alphabetical  order  for  convenience  of  refer- 
ence. 

The  letters  and  figures  in  the  parenthesis,  following  the 
name  of  a species,  refer  to  the  author,  volume,  and  page 
where  the  existence  of  this  species  in  China  is  recognized. 
(B.)  stands  for  Bretschneider’s  Botanicon  Sinicum  3 vols. 
(C.)  stands  for  !Mrs.  Clemens;  (DeC.)  for  DeCandolle’s 
The  Origin  of  Cultivated  Plants;  (F)  for  Forbes  and 
Helmsley’s  Plants  of  China;  (Sm.)  for  Smith’s  Chinese 
Materia  ]\Iedica ; ( St. ) for  Dr.  George  A.  Stuart’s  Chinese 
Materia  Medica;  and  (W.)  for  E.  H.  Wilson’s  A Naturalist 
in  Western  China,  W.I.  :5i  means  Wilson,  Vol.  I,  p.  51. 
F.III  :2/4  means  Forbes  and  Helmsley’s  Plants  of  China, 
Vol.  Ill,  p.  274.  The  edible  quality  of  the  species  has  been 
ascertained  largely  by  inquiries  among  the  Chinese,  and 


* Encyclopaedia  Britannica,  vol.  vi,  p.  171. 


512  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

I 

recorded  in  my  notebooks.  Very  often  the  edible  quality  of 
the  plant  is  indicated  in  the  volume  cited. 

Alg^. — This  is  not  a species,  or  even  a family,  but  em- 
braces an  entire  division  of  cellular  cryptogams.  The  small 
list  given  covers  only  a fraction  of  the  vegetable  sea-foods 
used  by  the  Chinese,  but  it  is  all  of  whose  identity  and  use 
as  foods  we  are  certain.  Alaria  (St.24) ; Gigartina  tenax 
(St.24) ; Gracilaria  lichenoides;  G.  spinosa  (St.24) ; Lami- 
naria digitata  (Sm.129);  L.  saccharina  (St.24);  Nostoc 
edule  (St.24);  Sargassum  siliquastruni  (St.24);  Sphcero- 
coccus  (St.24). 

Amaranth  Family. — Aniarantacece — amaranth;  Ama- 
rantlms  paniculatus  (W.II:63);  A.  spinosus  (St.34); 
Celosia  argentea  (W.II:63);  C.  cristata  (F.II:3i8);  ox- 
knee,  Achryanthes  bidentata  (St.6,34). 

Apple  Family. — Pomacece — Apple,  Malus  prunifolia 
( W.II  128)  ; M.  spectabilis  (W.II  128)  : Mr.  Meyer  has  dis- 
covered a grove  of  wild  apple  trees  in  a valley  on  the  borders 
of  Tibet  which  confirms  his  belief  that  the  apple  originated 
in  China.  Crabapple,  Pyrus  spectabilis  (St. 365);  Siberian 
crabapple,  baccata  (F.I;  225);  pear:  Pyrus  aria 

(F.1 1254) ; P.  aucuparia  (F.I  :254) ; P.  Baccata  (St.262) ; 
P.  Betulcefolia  (F.I  :255),  which  is  a valuable  stock  for  use 
in  grafting;  P.  calleryana  (F.I:255);  P.  chinensis  (or 
sinensis)  (DeC.233),  (St.364);P.  communis  (DeC.233); 
P.  indica  (F.I:256);  P.  malus  (St.364);  P.  ussurrctisis 
(W.II:28)  ; Stuart  gives  the  Chinese  names  of  four  more 
pears,  but  we  cannot  identify  them;  the  oli  pear,  of  Shan- 
tung, sometimes  weighs  one  and  a half  pounds;  quince: 
Pyrus  cathayensis  (St. 362) ; or  Cydonia  vulgaris  (St.363) ; 
P.  cydonia  (St.363) ; P.  japonica  (St.363). 

Aster  Family. — Compositce — The  largest  order  of 
plants  on  earth — 835  genera,  over  10,000  species,  many  of 
them  found  in  China,  but  few  used  for  food.  Artemisia 


APPENDIX  IV 


513 


apiacea  (St. 50);  A.  japonica  (St.51);  dandelion,  Taraxa- 
cum officinale  (W. 11:62);  Inula  chincnsis  or  elecampane, 
cultivated  for  medicinal  purposes  and  for  use  as  a flavor; 
safflower,  Carthamus  tinctorius  (F.III:47o);  the  oil  is 
pressed  from  seeds  and  used  for  cooking,  but  the  plant  is 
also  used.  The  main  use  of  the  plant,  however,  is  for  dye- 
ing. Salsify,  Tragopagon  porrifolius,  recently  introduced; 
Sonclius  oleraceus  (St  230) ; sunflower,  Helianthus  annuus 
(VV.II  :6i ),  the  seeds  of  the  sunflower  are  eaten  at  all  feasts 
and  the  oil  pressed  from  the  seeds  is  used. 

Banana  Family. — Musacecc — Musa  paradisica,  or  plan- 
tain (St.2yo) ; Musa'sapienta  (St. 269). 

Barberry  Family. — Beberidacecc — Beheris  vulgaris 

(W.I:44). 

Bean  Family. — Leguminosce — Acacia  nemu,  leaves  are 
eaten  (Sm.2);  alfalfa,  or  Mcdicago  saliva  (St. 260-61), 
brought  to  China  from  the  west  B.  C.  122  by  Chang  K’ien 
under  the  Emperor  Wu  f beans,  including  Glycine  hispidia, 
or  soy-bean  (St. 1 89) ; Pachyrhizus  thunbergiamts  (St. 299) ; 
Phaseolus  anginus;  P.  angulata;  P.  chrysanthus ; P.  hu- 
milis;  P.  minimus  (F.1 1192-3);  P.  mungo  (St.315);  P. 
radiatus  (St.316) ; P.  vulgaris  (F.I:i93);  Vida  faba,  or 
Windsor  bean  (St.453)  5 P-  hirsuta  (St.454) ; V.  saliva,  or 
vetch  (F.I:i85);  broom,  Cylisus  cajan  (Sm.43)  (F.I: 
195);  Cassia  mimosoides  (St.96-7);  clover,  eaten  young. 
Trifolium  globosum  (F.I:i55);  T.  indicum  (F.I:i55);  T. 
lupinasler  (F.I:i55);  Lalhyrus  marilimus  (St. 232);  len- 
tils: Lens  esculenla  (Sm.  132) ; Lablab  vulgaris  (Sm.128) ; 
lupine  (F.I:i52)  ; pea,  Pisum  salivum;  peanut,  two  species, 
Arachis  asialic  (F.Diyi) ; A.  hypogaea  (F.Diyi),  one  of 
China’s  large  products;  the  oil  also  is  used;  sainfoin,  Ono- 
brychis  saliva  (B.849)  5 Tai-yu,  or  Hidysarum  esculenlum 
(F.I:i69);  Wislaria  cliinensis  (F.I:i62). 


* Faber,  Ernst:  Chronological  Handbook  of  the  History  of  China,  p.  43. 


514  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

Bean-caper  Family. — Zygophyllacece — caper  bean,  Ni- 
traria  schoheri,  a globular  red  edible  berry  growing  in 
Kansu,  an  important  article  of  Mongol  diet  (St.286). 

Beech  Family. — Fagacea; — Forbes  and  Helmsley  (II: 
523)  mention  fourteen  species  under  Castanopsis,  and  six 
under  Fagus — twenty  in  all.  Wilson  (11:33),  says  that 
nuts  of  several  of  these  species  are  eaten,  but  we  cannot  tell 
to  which  species  the  nuts  used  for  food  belong. 

Bellwort  Family. — Canipanulacecu — Platycodon  grandi- 
florum  (St.18,337). 

Buckwheat  Family. — Polygonacece — buckwheat,  Poly- 
gonatum  officinale  (St.340);  Polygonum  harhatum  (St. 
344) ; P.  ffaccidum  (St.  342)  ; P.  orient  ale  (St.343). 

Buckthorn  Family. — Rhamnaceo’ — Rhamnus  theezans 
(F.I:i3i),  imitation  tea  much  used  by  the  poor;  Zisyphus 
jujuha  (St.466) ; Z.  lotus  (F.I  :i26) ; Z.  sativa  (F.I  :i27) ; 
Z.  vulgaris  (St.466) ; used  for  fruits  and  preserves.  Meyer 
thinks  there  are  not  less  than  100  varieties  of  the  jujube 
used  in  China,  fresh,  cooked,  preserved,  and  dried.  The  so- 
called  Persian  date  is  the  honey  jujube.  Z.  vulgaris  is  often 
seen  growing  wild  on  the  western  hills  near  Peking. 

Cashew  Family. — Anacardiacece — cashew  nut,  Rhus 
chinensis  (F.I  :14b);  mango,  Mangifera  indica  (F.I:  148); 
pistachio  nut,  Pistacia  chinensis  (W.II:62);  P.  vera  (St. 
334);  Rhus  semialata  (St. 376);  R.  venenata  (Sm.209); 
Spondias  amara  (St.421)  ; S.  dulcis  (St.421). 

Chicory  Family. — Cichoriacecc — chicory:  Chicorium 

intyhus,  recently  introduced:  endive,  Cichorium  endiva  (St. 
230)  ; lettuce:  fifty-three  species  of  lactuca  grow  in  China 
(1^.1:480-483);  twenty-one  species  have  distinct  Chinese 
names  and  these  are  the  species  eaten  raw  with  salt  and 
vinegar,  or  as  a pot-herb:  Lactuca  hrevirostris  (F.H479); 
L.  debilis  (St.230)  ; L.  denticulata  (St. 230);  (W.II:62); 
L.  data  (F.I  .-48) ; L.  formosana  (F.I  :482) ; L.  graciliffora 


APPENDIX  IV 


515 


(F.I:482);  L.  gracilis  (F.I:482);  L.  polycephala  (F.III: 
488) ; L.  raddcana  (F.III  :488) ; L.  rcpens;  L.  roborowskii; 
L.  sativa  (St.229) ; L.  scariola  (\V.II:62);  L.  sibirica 
(F.I:484);  L.  sororia  (F.I:484);  L.  sqiiarrosa  (St.230) ; 
L.  stolonifera  (F.I:484);  L.  tatarica  (F.l:484);  L.  thun- 
bcrgiana  (F.I:484);  L.  tridora  (F.I:485);  L.  versicolor 
(F.I;485);L.  triangiilata  (F. 1:482). 

CoLANUT  Family. — Stcrculiacecc — Stcrculia  plantifolia 
(W.I:2o) ; (B.173)  (St.  423). 

Convolvulus  Family. — Convolridacecc — Calystegia  sc- 
pium  (St. 80) ; C onvolvidus  arvensis  (St.125) ; C.  japonicus 
(St.8o);  C.  reptans,  or  Ipomoea  aquatica  (B.484)  (St. 
219);  Ipomoea  batatas,  or  sweet  potato  (St.220);  I.  nil 
(St.490). 

Cycad  Family. — Cycadacece — Cycas  inermis  (F.I:559) ; 
C.  revoliita;  sago  is  obtained  from  the  pith  of  the  trunks  of 
the  Cycadacece. 

Custard-Apple  Family.  — Anonacece  — custard-apple, 
Anona  retietdata  (Sm.8i)  (DeC.170,172) ; A.  unicinata 
(F.I:26). 

Dogwood  Family. — Cornacece — Cormis  capitata  (W.II : 
32);  C.  kousa  (\V.II:32);  both  these  trees  growing  in 
Szechwan  and  Hupeh  are  called  in  Chinese,  Yang-mei,  in 
English,  strawberry  tree.  Each  species  bears  a flattened- 
round  red  fruit  with  a tough  covering  or  outside,  but  the 
inside  is  very  juicy  and  of  a good  flavor.  The  Yang-mei 
of  Yunnan  and  southeastern  China  belongs  to  an  entirely 
dififerent  family.  (See  Sweetgale  Family.) 

Ebony  Family. — Ebenace.e — Diospyros  embryopteris 
(St.151)  ; D.  kaki  (St.152) ; D.  lotus,  or  possibly  Zizyphus 
lotus  (St.151,153)  (Sm.87,139)  ;D.  melanoxylon  (Sm.87). 
All  these  species  of  persimmons  are  grown  in  China.  Mrs. 
Clemens  finds  that  the  fruit  is  grafted  on  a wild  persimmon 
tree,  not  on  the  jujube  tree  as  is  often  reported.  Mrs. 


5i6  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

Clemens  also  reports  one  species  of  which  the  fruit  is  seed- 
less and  weighs  more  than  a pound ; this  fruit  is  not  astrin- 
gent and  can  be  eaten  green.  The  persimmon  constitutes 
a leading  fruit  in  north  China  for  four  or  five  months  of 
the  year.  Persimmon  oil  is  much  used  in  varnishing  paper 
umbrellas. 

Evening  Primrose  Family. — Onagrace.e — Trapa  bi- 
cornis,  or  T.  natans,  sometimes  called  water  chestnut 
(St.440)  (W.II:59);  T.  tricornis  (St.440) ; water  cal- 
throp,  a four-horned  species  (St.440).  The  water  chestnut 
is  an  article  of  common  diet  in  China,  both  boiled,  and  dried 
and  used  for  flour. 

Ferns. — Order  Filicales — Ceratopteris  thalictr aides,  used 
as  a potherb  (C.) ; Nephrodium  (Sm.23) ; Pteris  esculenta 
(Sm.96)  ; Pteridium  aquilinum  (W.II  :63).  Young  shoots 
and  rhizomes  eaten.  An  arrow  root  is  also  made  from  the 
rhizomes. 

Flax  Family. — Linacece — three  species  are  named  (F.I: 
95)  3.S  grown  in  China.  Mrs.  Clemens  names  Linum 
agustifolium;  L.  humilie;  L.  usitatissimum,  oil  from  the 
seeds  is  used  for  food. 

Ginger  Family. — Zingihmcece — Amotnum  cardamo- 
mum  (St. 36),  or  A.  globosum  (St.36);  A.  medium 
(St. 37);  A.  xanthoides  (St.39);  Kaempferia  (Sm.127); 
Zingiber  mioga  (St.464);  Z.  oificinale  (St. 465). 

Gooseberry  Family. — Grossulariacecc — Currant,  Ribes 
longeracemosum,  with  racemes  eighteen  inches  long  (W.II: 
31) ; gooseberry,  Ribes  alpestre.  Wilson  mentions  a goose- 
berry bush  cultivated  as  a hedge  plant  on  the  China-Tibetan 
border  bearing  a small  round  fruit  which  is  very  sharp  in 
taste.  Mrs.  Clemens  mentions  nine  species  of  the  wild 
gooseberry  found  in  north  China.  Forbes  names  eleven. 
Some  of  these  species  are  very  promising  for  introduction 
into  Western  lands;  but  Meyer  says  that  the  Chinese  are 


APPENDIX  IV 


517 

not  fond  of  soft  fruits,  especially  of  soft  berries,  possibly 
due  in  part  to  the  inferior  quality  of  fruit. 

Goosefoot  Family. — Chcnopodiaccce — Agrophyllum  go- 
bictim,  “the  gift  of  the  desert”;  beet,  Beta  vulgaris  (St.68, 
473) ; Chenopodium  (St.475)  > olbum  (St.104) ; spinach, 
Spinacea  oleracea. 

Gourd  Family. — Cncurbitacecc — bottle  gourd,  Laginaria 
leiicantha  (W.II:57);  L.  vulgaris  (St.231);  cucumbers, 
Cucumis  sativus  (St.135) ; muskmelon,  C.  melo  (St.134); 
pumpkin,  Cucurbita  pepo  (St.  136),  the  original  of  the 
pumpkin  and  of  the  crook-neck  squash  (Stand.  Diet.); 
squashes,  Cucurbita  citrullus  (\V.II:57);  C.  maxima  (St. 
136) ; C.  moshata  (St. 136)  (\V. 11:57) ; C.  ovifera  (W.II: 
57)  ; many  varieties  of  pumpkins,  melons,  and  squashes  are 
cultivated;  tallow  gourd,  Bcnincasa  cerifera  (St. 67) ; water- 
melon, Citrullus  vidgaris  (St. no). 

Grass  Family. — Gramincce — Arundinaria  nitida  (W.II: 
62);  bamboo,  Bambusa  arundinacccc  (F. 111:445)  (W.II: 
62) ; B.  retiadata,  or  B.  tesselata  (F. 111:446) ; B.  vulgaris 
(F.III  :447)  (W.II  :62) ; Dendrocalamus  giganteus  (W.II : 
18);  Phyllostachys  nigra,  var.  henosis  (F.III  :443);  P. 
Staunton  (F.III  :443);  P.  pubscens  (W.ID17);  P.  hetero- 
clada  (W.II: 1 7).  The  knotty  bamboo  was  brought  to 
, China  by  Chang  K’ien,  B.  C.  122,  under  Emperor  Wu;  but 
the  bamboo  is  a native  of  China. ^ Wilson  says  that 
thirty-three  species  of  bamboo  grow  in  China,  but  we 
are  able  to  name  only  nine.  Bamboo  sprouts  are  used  for 
food.  The  bamboo  is  used  for  some  600  different  pur- 
poses: for  every  part  of  a house,  of  a boat,  and  for  all 
kinds  of  domestic  utensils;  for  fishing  rods  and  hunting 
bows,  for  pens  and  writing  tablets,  for  umbrellas,  fans, 
ropes,  walking  sticks,  and  for  paper.  It  is  one  of  the  most 
useful  trees,  or,  rather,  grasses,  in  China.  I have  seen 


* Faber,  Erast:  Chronological  Handbook  of  the  History  of  China,  p.  43. 


5i8  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

bamboo  trees  in  the  Fukien  Province  six  inches  in  diameter 
at  the  ground  and  eighty  feet  high.  The  trees  grow  in  a 
single  year,  but  require  two  or  three  years  for  hardening, 
and  when  hard  make  good  paper  pulp.  Chinese  bamboo 
can  supply  paper  for  the  world.  We  think  it  could  be  grown 
profitably  in  the  southern  part  of  the  United  States.  Barley, 
or  Hordeum  vulgare  (St.207);  H.  distichum  (C.) ; Job’s 
tears,  Coix  lachryma  (St.  122);  Zea  mays,  or  maize,  said 
to  have  been  introduced  from  America;  Millet:  kaoliang, 
or  Holcus  sorghum  (Sm.113),  Smith  says  this  Chinese 
name  is  the  old  name  of  the  Szechwan  Province,  where  this 
millet  is  largely  grown ; Panicum  crus-galli,  var.  frumenta- 
ceum  (St.304-5)  (W.II:54);P.  maximum  (F.III:33i); 
P.  miliaceum,  or  panicled  millet  (St.305),  supposed  to  be 
the  millet  mentioned  by  Shennung  as  cultivated  in  B.  C. 
2700;  Setaria  glauca  (Sm.190);  S.  italica  (W.II:54); 
Sorghum  vulgare  (W. 11:54),  the  kaoliang  most  largely 
cultivated.  Forbes  (111:327-333)  mentions  eighteen  species 
of  millet  grown  in  China.  As  the  Chinese  have  only  seven 
distinct  names  for  millet,  we  do  not  think  over  seven  species 
are  used  for  food;  at  any  rate,  we  are  able  to  name  only 
seven  species  as  certainly  eaten.  The  millet  is  a very  im- 
portant crop  for  the  northern  and  northwestern  parts  of 
China  where  the  rainfall  is  least.  It  can  stand  the  drought, 
it  grows  with  great  rapidity  after  the  summer  rains  begin, 
it  grows  to  a height  of  five  to  ten  feet  and  resembles  sugar- 
cane. (We  have  seen  stalks  fifteen  feet  high,  and  Dr.  F.  D. 
Gamewell  has  seen  stalks  eighteen  feet  high.)  It  is  the 
kaffir-corn  of  Africa  and  the  United  States;  the  leaves  are 
stripped  off  when  the  grain  is  nearly  ripe  and  dried  for 
fodder,  the  stalks  are  cut,  and  the  heads  cut  off,  the  seed 
threshed  out  and  used  for  food  for  chickens,  pigs,  horses, 
and  for  man;  while  the  stalks  are  used  for  fences,  for  the 
sides  of  houses  and  stables,  for  the  first  layer  of  thatch 


APPENDIX  IV 


519 


roofing,  while  stalks  and  roots  are  used  for  fuel.  VVe  think 
it  ranks  next  to  rice  in  value  to  the  Chinese.  Oats,  of 
four  species : Avcna  fatiia;  A.  niida;  A.  pratensis;  A.  sativa; 
oats  are  not  so  widely  used  as  in  the  United  States  and 
Europe.  Reeds,  Phragmitcs  communis,  often  used  for  food 
(B.991) ; jP.  karka  (F.III  :4io) ; P.  longivalvis,  or  possibly 
Arundo  phragmitcs  (Chinese  chiao  pii)  (F.III  :409); 
Stuart  (318)  thinks  reeds  rank  next  to  rice  and  bamboo 
in  value  to  the  Chinese:  young  shoots  and  roots  grow  in 
the  mud  and  are  eaten,  also  the  leaves  and  tops  furnish  a 
glutinous  sugar,  stalks  are  used  for  building  fences  and 
houses,  leaves  are  used  for  mattresses ; stalks  are  woven 
into  baskets,  mats,  etc. ; the  whole  plant  is  fed  to  cattle ; 
and,  above  all,  the  immense  reed  beds  furnish  fuel 
for  millions.  Rice,  including  Hydrospyrum  latifolmm 
(St. 210);  Oryza  sativa;  Zizania  aqnatica  (F.III :344~5) ; 
rice  (Oryza  sativa),  is  eaten  by  a larger  number  of  the 
human  family  than  any  other  food ; it  comes  the  nearest  of 
any  cereal  to  having  all  the  elements  required  to  sustain  life 
(St.295).  Rye;  Bretschneider  thinks  rye  is  not  found  in 
China,  but  the  Rev.  H.  H.  Lowry,  a missionary  of  forty- 
nine  years’  standing  in  China,  tells  us  that  he  has  seen  rye 
growing  in  China  and  he  has  eaten  rye  bread  in  China. 
DeCandolle,  p.  118,  says  rye  was  introduced  into  China 
B.  C.  300  to  600.  Sugar  cane,  Saccliarum  officinarum 
arundinacemn  (F.III  :349);  5".  narenga  (F.III  ;349);  S'. 
officinarum  (St. 386) ; Sorghum  saccharatum  (Sm.202). 
Sugar  cane  has  been  grown  in  China  at  least  since  B.  C. 
200.  Wheat,  some  fifteen  species  known  in  Europe  and 
temperate  Asia,  but  Forbes  (111:431-433)  mentions  only 
six  Chinese  species:  Triticum  caninum;  T.  chinense;  T. 
ciliare;  T.  pseudo-agropyrum;  T.  repens;  T.  strigosum;  and 
T.  sativum  (W.II:52).  The  learned  compiler  of  the  Pen 
Ts’ao  gives  Kai  Sze-tzu  as  the  Chinese  transliteration  of 


520  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

the  Sanscrit  or  Pali  name  for  wheat.  This  seems  to  indi- 
cate that  wheat  was  brought  from  western  Asia.  The 
wheat  drill  is  a Chinese  invention  in  use  in  China  centuries 
before  it  was  invented  in  America.  The  fanning  mill  is 
also  an  old  invention  of  the  Chinese,  long  used  by  them. 
The  use  of  wheat  bread  in  China  is  very  ancient  and  is 
much  more  widespread  than  many  missionaries  suppose, 
though  wheat  is  consumed  usually  in  other  forms  than 
bread. 

Honeysuckle  Family.  — Caprifoliacecp  — elder  tree, 
Sambucus  racemosa  (B.680) ; Soapberry  tree.  Viburnum 
dilatatum  (St.453). 

Holly  Family. — Ilicinecc — Ilex  pedunculosa  (St.214). 

Iris  Family. — Iridacece — Crocus  sativus,  used  pre- 
dominantly as  a dye,  but  the  oil  of  the  seeds  is  used  for 
cooking;  Iris  ensafa,  var.  chinensis  (F.HI  :8i-82)  ; I.  dorcn- 
tina  (Sm.i2o) ; I.  japonica  (F.HI:82) ; I.  oxypetala  (Sm. 
120);  I.  sibirica  (F. Ill  184),  whose  rhizomes  are  used  for 
food;  I.  tectorum  (F. 111:85),  yielding  orris  root;  I.  %vil- 
sonii  (W.I.60). 

Laurel  Family. — Lauracece — Avocado,  a lauraceous 
tree  bearing  the  alligator  pear ; Cinnamomum  cassia,  Chinese 
cinnamon  (St.107)  (W.I:95)  (W.II:37).  Cassia  oil  also 
is  used. 

Lily  Family. — Liliacecc — about  280  species  are  found  in 
China,  among  them  the  following  are  used  for  food : Arabic 
onion.  Allium  scordopracum  (St. 28) ; Asparagus  lucidus; 
A.  officinalis;  chives.  Allium  schacnoprasum;  garlic,  A. 
sativus;  leek,  A.  odorum  (St. 26,27) ; Lilium  bakerianum 
(W.I:i55);  L.  brownii  (St.240) ; L.  concolor  (St.240); 
L.  sargentiae  (W.II  163) ; L.  thayerac  ( W.1 1155) ; L.  tigri- 
num  (W.H;6o);  onion.  Allium  cepa;  Welsh  onion,  A. 
fistulosum,  really  of  Chinese  origin  (St.26)  (DeC.437) ; 
shallot,  A.  ascalonicum  (St.25,26). 


APPENDIX  IV 


521 

Linden  Family. — Tiliacccc — broomweed,  Corchorus  cap- 
sularis,  eaten  when  young. 

Mallow  Family. — Malvacea: — cotton,  Gossyphim  arbo- 
rtint;  G.  herbacium;  G.  rcUgiosum.  The  seeds  of  these 
species  of  cotton  are  used  for  their  oil  and  the  fiber  for 
clothing.  Hibiscus  esculent  us  (Sm.  112) ; H.  syriacus  (Sm. 
1 13);  Malva  verticillata  (St.256)  (W. II 162);  M.  parvi- 
Hora  (W.II:62). 

Mint  Family. — Labiatce — catmint,  Nepeta  cataria  (Sm. 
150);  Lophanthus  rugosus  (C.)  (F.)  cultivated  in  North 
China;  Mentha  arvensis,  or  peppermint  (St.263),  oil  is 
also  used  (Sm.iio)  M.  crispa  (Sm.  150) ; M.  hirsuta  (Sm. 
150);  M.  pulegiuni  or  pennyroyal  (Sm.150);  Ocinium 
basilicum  (F.II:266);  0.  canuin  (F.II:266);  0.  sanctum 
(F.II;256)  (C.),  cultivated  for  the  oil  of  the  seeds  (W.II : 
61),  the  leaves  are  eaten  also  as  a vegetable  (St.313) ; 
Rosmarinus  officinalis  (F.)  (C.) ; Sakia  officinalis,  common 
sage  (F.);  Etachys  tuberifera,  cultivated  in  Chihli  for  its 
tubers  (C.)  (F.);  Thymus  sarpyllum,  cultivated  in  Shan- 
tung (C). 

Mistletoe  Family. — Loranthacecc — Lorenthus  kcemp- 
feri  (St.248);  L.  yadorika  (St.248).  (See  also  Mush- 
rooms.) 

Moracea  Family. — morus:  Fids  carrea  (St.  174);  F. 
erecta  (St.488) ; F.  pumila  (St.175) ; Morus  alba  (St.266) ; 
M.  cathayana  (F.II:456);  M.  indica  (St. 267);  M.  nigra 
(F.) ; M.  multicaulis,  the  mulberry  has  been  cultivated  since 
the  earliest  times  (Standard  Dictionary). 

Mosses. — Class  Musci — Ceramium  rubrum  (St.270). 

Mushrooms. — Class  Basidiomycetes — Wilson  (W.II : 
63 ) mentions  under  Fungi  the  following  edible  cryptogams : 
Agaricus  boletus;  A.  campestris,  the  common  mushroom; 
Cantharellus  cibarius;  Hirneola  polyutricha;  Lactarius  deli- 
ciosus  Tricholoma  gambosa.  In  addition,  Stuart  (271) 


522  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

says  that  six  varieties  or  possibly  species  of  fungi  under 
Clavaria  or  Sparassis  are  edible.  Under  Exidis  auricula 
judce,  Stuart  (170,272)  says  that  four  species  are  edible.  I 
judge  one  of  these  is  the  Jew’s  ear  fungus  (W.II  :38).  On 
pp.  272,  273  Stuart  speaks  of  four  more  species  which  are 
edible,  and  on  page  374  he  mentions  two  more  species,  prob- 
ably Auricularides.  Here  are  in  all  some  twenty-two  species 
of  edible  fungi,  or  mushrooms.  We  are  able  to  name  only 
eleven. 

Mustard  Family. — Brassicacecc — Brassica  campestris, 
oleifera — is  one  of  the  two  species  producing  rape  seed  oil 
of  which  great  quantities  are  used  in  China  in  foods.  Wil- 
son (II:6o)  says  that  this  is  not  the  true  rape,  and  that 
he  has  never  seen  the  true  rape  in  China.  But  the  Britan- 
nica  and  the  Standard  Dictionary  identify  rape  with  Bras- 
sica campestris;  B.  campestris,  var.  rapa,  is  the  turnip;  B. 
chinensis,  a cabbage  grown  in  winter,  dried  and  pickled ; B. 
juncea,  var.  oleifera,  is  the  other  species  yielding  rape  seed 
oil  (W.II:6o),  this  is  sometimes  called  colza  oil;  B.  olera- 
cea:  Brussels  sprouts,  cabbage,  cauliflower,  kohlrabi,  kan- 
lan,  and  lan-tsai,  all  are  varieties  of  this  species;  B.  rapa- 
depressaea,  rape  or  turnip  (St.74) ; Lepidium  chinensis 
(F.I:48);  L.  sativum,  recently  introduced;  Nastuturium 
amoracia,  horseradish;  N.  capsella,  bursa-past  oris  or  shep- 
herd’s purse;  N.  crambo  maritima,  sea  kale;  N.  officinalis, 
water  cress;  N.  palustre,  marsh  cress;  Raphanus  sativus, 
radish;  also  two  species  of  radish  grow  and  are  used  in 
the  Gobi  desert.  The  radish  has  been  cultivated  in  China 
since  B.  C.  1100  (DeC.437).  Sinapis  alba,  white  mustard; 
S.  nigra,  black  mustard. 

Myrobalan  Family.  — Combretacece  — myrobalan,  a 
prune-like  fruit  which  is  eaten  dried.  The  kernels  also  are 
eaten.  In  all  probability  this  is  the  Quisqualis  sinensis 
(Sm.182). 


APPENDIX  IV 


523 


Myrtle  Family. — Myrtacecc — cloves,  Carophyllus  aro- 
maticus  (St.95),  oil  is  also  made  from  cloves;  guava,  two 
varieties,  Psidium  guaiava  pomifcriim,  and  the  P.g.pyri- 
fcrum;  pomegranate,  Punka  granatum  (F.I:3o6);  rose- 
apple,  Eugenia  jambos  (C.). 

Myrrh  Family. — Burseraccce — Chinese  olive,  or  Cana- 
rium  album;  C.  pimela,  hawked  all  over  China,  eaten  fresh, 
pickled,  or  preserved  (C.)  (F.). 

Nettle  Family. — Urticaca — elm:  Ulmus  parvifolia 
(W.I:2o);  U.  pumila  (W. II 145),  seeds  commonly  eaten, 
bark  used  for  food  in  times  of  famine.  We  saw  elm  bark 
eaten  in  the  famine  of  1907.  Hemp,  or  Cannabis  saliva, 
brought  to  China  from  the  west  by  Chang  K’ien  under 
Emperor  Wu,  B.  C.  122,  the  seeds  of  which  are  eaten 
(St. 404);  oil  also  is  used  (W.II:8i),  while  the  stems  are 
used  for  the  manufacture  of  rope;  Jack  fruit,  or  Artocarpiis 
intergrifolia  (St.54);  Broussonctia  papyrifera,  or  paper 
mulberry. 

Nightshade  Family.  — Solanacea  — cayenne  pepper. 
Capsicum  frutescens  (F.II:i69) ; C.  annum  (C);  C.  bacca- 
funi  (C.)  C.  chinense  (F. 11:169),  Chinese  pepper  used  by 
millions  instead  of  our  mustard  and  pepper,  though  these 
are  also  used;  “cape-gooseberry,”  or  ground  cherry,  Physa- 
lis  peruviania;  egg  plant,  or  brinjal,  Solanum  melongena, 
var.  chinensis,  sometimes  a foot  long  and  weighing  two  and 
a half  pounds  (W.II:6i);  6".  esculentum  (F.II:i69); 
aethiopicum  (F.II:i69);  Jerusalem  cherry,  Solanum 
pseudo-capsicum;  potato,  or  S'.  Tuberosum  (W.II:58); 
stramony.  Datura  stramonium;  tomato,  Solanum  lycopersi- 
cum  (W.II:6i). 

Oak  F.\mily. — Cupidifercc — acorns  of  at  least  three 
species  of  oak  are  used  for  food : Betula  alba,  var.  mandshu- 
rica  (F.II:496);  B.  chinensis  (F.II:498);  B.  utilis  (F.II: 
499) ; chestnut : the  nuts  of  Castanea  molissima  ( W.II  :32) ; 


524  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

C.  seguinii  (W.II:32);  C.  vilmoriniana  (\V.II:33)  are 
eaten.  Of  the  hazelnut,  Wilson  (W.II:33)  speaks  of  nuts 
of  different  species  being  gathered  and  used : Corylus  avellana 
(F.II : 504)  ; C.  colurna,  var.  chinensis  (F.II  :503)  ; C.  ferox 
(F.II:503);  C.  heterophylla  (F.II:504);  (W.I:232);  C. 
mandshuria  (F.II  .-505).  He  also  (W.I:232)  speaks  of  a 
hazelnut  tree  five  feet  in  girth  and  sixty  feet  tall  bearing  a 
nut  in  its  crested  cup.  Mrs.  Clemens,  to  whom  we  have  pre- 
viously referred,  speaks  of  four  species  of  hazelnuts  used  in 
China,  one  of  which  is  the  filbert,  or  Cupulifcra  avettana 
(St. 81)  (Standard  Dictionary). 

Olive  Family. — Oleacea — At  least  four  species  of  this 
family  are  cultivated  for  the  flowers,  which  are  mixed  with 
tea  (F.II:78-82)  namely,  Jasminum  humilie;  J.  nudidorum, 
var.  angulare;  J.  officinale;  J.  piibesccns,  var.  multidorum; 
so  far  as  we  know,  the  olive  tree  is  not  cultivated  in  China 
for  its  fruit,  the  Chinese  olive  belonging  to  the  Myrrh 
family.  Jasmine  was  introduced  into  China  from  the  west 
between  A.  D.  200  and  300.^  Oil  is  extracted  from  the 
jasmine  leaves.  Fraxinus  chinensis — this  tree  is  cultivated 
in  China,  but  not  for  its  fruit.  It  is  the  white  wax  tree,  or 
Pai  La-shu  of  several  provinces. 

Orange  Family. — Aurantacece — Dr.  Stuart,  pp.  11-17, 
names  the  following  species:  Aegle  separia;  Citrus  acida, 
or  lime;  C.  aurantimn,  or  golden  orange;  C.  decnmana,  or 
pomelo;  C.  japonica,  or  cumquat;  C.  linionum,  or  lemon; 
C.  medica,  or  citron;  C.  medico,  var.  chirocarpus,  or 
Buddha’s  hand;  C.  nobilis,  or  tangerine.  Wilson  says  the 
orange  family  originated  in  China.  There  are  said  to  be 
over  eighty  species  and  varieties  of  oranges  grown  in  China. 
We  are  able  to  name  only  nine  species.  The  orange  and 
lemon  white  fly  has  caused  a loss  of  millions  to  citrus 
growers  in  the  United  States.  But  in  China  and  India  this 


* See  Chau  Ju-kua,  p.  6. 


APPENDIX  IV 


525 


fly  is  kept  in  check  by  a cousin  of  the  laclybug,  CryptognatUa 
Havescenta,  assisted  by  an  internal  parasite,  Frospaltella 
lahorensis. 

Orchis  Family. — Orchidacecc — Gastrodia  elata  (St. 
185). 

Palm  Family. — Palmacece — areca,  or  nut  palm,  Acacia 
catechu;  cocoanut  palm,  or  Cocos  nucifera  (F.IIDiyo); 
date  palm,  or  Phoenix  dactylifcra,  or  P.  hanccana  (F.III: 
168);  fan  palm,  Liz’istona  chincnsis  (C.)  (F.III  :i68); 
palmyra  palm,  or  Borassiis  dabelliformis  (St.  122) ; Trachy- 
carpus  excelsus  (F.II:i68). 

Papaw  Family. — Caricacece — Carica  papaya-  Ameri- 
cans recently  have  discovered  the  value  of  papaw  juice  in 
making  meat  tender.  This  fact  has  been  known  to  the 
Chinese  for  centuries.  They  have  been  accustomed  to  feed 
the  fruit  to  old  chickens,  and  to  hang  up  dressed  chickens 
in  the  boughs  where  the  exhalations  from  the  leaves  may 
intenerate  them. 

Parsley  Family. — Umbclliferce — anise  seed,  Pimpimella 
anisum,  for  seed  and  oil  (St.331)  (Sm.158);  cara- 

way, Carum  carz'i  (F.II:463);  C.  sinense  (F.II:464); 
carrot,  Dauciis  carots  (F.I:336) ; celery,  Apium  graveolens 
(St.42,43)  coriander,  Coriandrum  sativum  (F.I:336) ; dill, 
Peucedaniim  graveolens  (F.1 1335 ) ; Foeniculum  duke  (Sm. 
97);  fennel,  F.  vulgare  (St. 176)  (F. 1:331);  F.  libanatis 
(Sm.133) ; parsley,  Petroselinum  sativum  (F.1 1328)  ; pars- 
nip, Peucedanum  sativum  (\V.II:6o);  European  parsnip, 
or  Pastinaca  saliva  (C.);  water  parsnip,  Sinum  sisarum 
(B.82,144)  (F.329).  Carrots  are  larger  and  we  think  of 
finer  flavor  in  China  than  in  many  countries.  Our  note- 
books record  carrots  seen  in  Szechwan  measuring  nine 
inches  in  length  and  four  and  a half  inches  in  circumference 
at  the  top. 

Passion-flower  Family. — Passidoracecr — Nine  species 


526  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

are  found  in  China  and  we  have  eaten  the  fruit,®  but  we 
do  not  know  of  which  species.  The  Encyclopaedia  Britan- 
nica  names  six  species  as  fruit  bearing,  but  none  of  the 
species  given  in  the  Britannica  is  included  in  the  nine  named 
as  found  in  China. 

Pedaliad  Family. — Pedalicece — Sesamum  indicum  (St. 
404),  oil  an  important  article  of  food. 

Pepper  Family. — Piperaceco — found  in  China,  but  not 
largely  cultivated.  Capsicum  and  Xanthroxylum  largely  tak- 
ing its  place;  Betel  nut,  Piper  betle  (F.II:364) ; black  and 
white  pepper,  P.  nigrum  (St. 334);  Chavica  roxhurghii 
(St.103). 

Pine  Family. — Coniferce — Pinus  bungeana  (C.)  (St. 
333)5  P-  koraiensis  (St. 333);  P.  massoniana  (St.333). 
Kernels  of  these  and  perhaps  of  other  species  are  eaten  in 
all  parts  of  China. 

PoKEWEED  Family. — Phytolaccacecc — Phytolacca  aci- 
nosa,  young  shoots  eaten  (Sm.171),  roots  also  eaten  (St. 
319).  Another  species  is  poisonous. 

Purslane  Family. — Portulacacea — Portulacea  oleracea 
(St.397)- 

Rhubarb  Family. — Polygonacece — Chinese  rhubarb. 
Rheum  officinale,  has  been  known  in  China  since  the  very 
earliest  times  (about  B.  C.  3000).  It  grows  to  a height 
of  six  or  seven  feet,  and  the  stocks  are  six  or  seven  inches 
in  diameter  at  the  base  (St. 374) ; it  is  considered  the  best 
species  of  rhubarb  medicinally;  there  is  also  the  garden 
rhubarb,  R.  rhaponticuni  (St. 374);  Turkish  rhubarb,  R. 
palmatum,  grown  in  northwestern  China. 

Rose  Family. — Roseacece — almond,  or  Amygdalus  com- 
nmnis  (Sm.8);  Mr.  Frederick  Meyer,  collector  for  the 
Agricultural  Department  of  the  United  States  government, 
says  apricot  seeds  are  sold  as  almonds.  He  does  not  think 


‘ Bash  ford,  James  W.:  Notes,  vol.  45,  p.  27. 


APPENDIX  IV 


5^7 


the  true  Amygdalus  communis  grows  in  China.  Dr.  Stuart 
expresses  a similar  opinion  on  p.  44;  but  on  p.  354  he  re- 
ports that  the  Amygdalus  communis  was  brought  to  China 
by  Mohammedans,  and  is  cultivated  in  Kansu  and  Mon- 
golia. A.  cochin-chincnsis  (Sm.8);  Primus  dehiscens — an 
allied  species  of  almond  (W. II 127).  Apricot;  Prunus 
armeniaca  (Sm.158);  P.  mume  (\V.II:27);  Stuart  (p. 
355)  calls  this  last  a plum.  Cherry:  Wilson  says  there 
are  over  forty  species  in  China,  but  few  of  them  cultivated ; 
we  can  name  only  Prunus  humilis  (B.20);  P.  involucrata 
(W.II;28);  P.  japonica  (St. 355);  P.  paucidora  (C.) 
(F.I:22o)  ; P.  pseudo-ccrasus  (St.358) ; P.  tomentosa  (St. 
358);  Brambles:  Wilson  (W.II:3i),  says,  “Over  too 
species  are  recorded  from  China;  the  majority  of  them 
being  edible.”  Wilson  has  introduced  into  Europe  and 
America  over  thirty  species  of  these  from  China.  We  are 
certain  that  these  thirty  species,  which  have  been  tested 
and  introduced  into  other  countries,  are  edible.  Among 
them  are  Rubus  amabilis  (W.II;3i);  R.  bidoris  (W.II: 
31);  R.  bugeri  (St. 383);  R.  corchorifolius  (W.I:32);  R. 
coreanus  (St. 383);  R.  dosculosus  (W.II:3i)  (F.I:5ii); 
R.  fockeanus  (W.I;248);  R.  iciiangcnsis  (St. 383)  (F.I: 
231);  R.  incisus  (St.382) ; R.  innominatus  (W.II:3i) 
(F.I:23i);  R.  omeiense  (W.II:3i);  R.  parvifolius  (St. 
383)  (F.I:235);  (W.II:3i);  R.  pileatus  (W.II:3i) 

(F.III  :5i2) ; R.  tokkura  (St. 383) ; R.  thunbergii  (St. 383) ; 
R.  tricolor  (W.I:25o) ; R.  trifidus  (St.383) ; xanthocarpus 
(W.I  :i44)  (W.II  :3i ).  This  makes  eighteen  species  which 
we  are  able  to  name.  Forbes  and  Helmsley  name  more 
than  100  additional  species  growing  in  China,  many  of 
which  are  doubtless  edible,  but  we  cannot  distinguish  them. 
Probably  as  many  more  brambles  will  eventually  be  intro- 
duced into  the  United  States  from  China  as  have  already 
been  introduced.  Haw:  Crataegus  cuncata  (St.  130);  C. 


528  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

Hava  (St.130);  C.  hupehensis  (W.I:20,34);  C.  macracan- 
tha  (St.130),  probably  the  “sour  date”  of  the  Chinese;  C. 
parvafolia  (St.130)  ; C.  pinnatifidia  (St.130),  haws  of  red 
color  and  the  size  of  a crabapple  and  agreeable  taste  are 
cultivated,  especially  in  Shantung,  preserved  in  syrup,  trans- 
fixed on  long  needles  of  bamboo,  and  hawked  at  railway 
stations  in  many  parts  of  China;  loquat ; Eribotrya  japonica 
(St. 164);  Photinia  japonica,  Chekiang  is  noted  for  the 
production  of  this  fruit.  There  is  also  a P.  glabra  growing 
in  Szechwan  with  a small  red  berry  resembling  a cherry 
which  is  dried  or  pickled  for  food  (St.317)  ; peach:  Primus 
amygdalus  (C. ) (F.)  ; P.  persica  platycarpa  (DeC.228)  ; 
P.  davidii  (DeC.228) ; P.  mira — a new  and  valuable 
species  of  peach  discovered  by  Wilson  (W.I:203);  P. 
persica  simonii  (St.256);  DeCandolle  says  the  peach 
originated  in  China,  that  it  is  mentioned  in  China  two  thou- 
sand years  before  its  introduction  into  the  lands  of  the 
Sanscrit-speaking  races;  there  is  a fci  peach,  which  some- 
times weighs  a pound,  or  even  more.  Plum : Prunus  salicina 
(W.I:xxvii)  (W.II:27);  P.  tridora  (St.358);  Potentilla 
anserina  (B.991);  P.  discolor  (St. 348-9)  (W.II:63);  P. 
multifidia  (W.II  163) ; Rosa  multidora  (St. 380) ; R.  rugosa 
(St.381);  strawberry:  Fragaria  eliator;  F.  filipendula 
(W.I:25o) — new  species  discovered  by  Wilson. 

Rue  Family. — Rutacecc — Clausena  wampi  (St.117),  or 
Clausena  punctata  (W.II:33) ; Xanthroxylum  ailanthroides 
(St. 462);  X.  bungei  (St. 464);  X.  piperitum  (St.463); 
X.  sp.  (St. 464) ; these  are  pepper  trees. 

Sedge  Family. — Cyperacece — Eleocharis  palustris,  water 
nut  (C.);  E.  tuber osus,  an  arrow  root  (Sm.92);  Scirpus 
tuberosus,  sometimes  called  the  water  chestnut  (St.398). 
(See  also  Evening  Primrose  Family.)  Scirpus  capsularis 
of  this  same  family  is  not  used  for  food,  but  millions  upon 
millions  of  the  small  stems  are  dried  and  used  in  China  for 


APPENDIX  IV 


529 

lamp  wicks,  that  is,  for  small  wicks  placed  in  saucers  for 
burning  oil. 

Soapberry  Family. — Sapindacccc — Aisctihis  chimensis 
(St. 19)  (F. 1:139),  resembles  the  horse  chestnut;  Ae.  tur- 
binata  (St. 19)  (F.I:i39);  Sapindus  mukorossi  (St. 395) 
(F.I:i39);  Ncphelium  lapacum;  N.  litchi;  N.  longana,  or 
N.  lungli;  N.  sp.  (St.281-2).  Mrs.  Clemens  says  these  last 
are  among  the  most  popular  fruits  in  China,  that  no  formal 
dinner  is  quite  complete  without  them.  The  fruits  are  eaten 
fresh,  canned,  or  dried. 

Spiderwort  Family.  — Commelinacecc  — Commelina 
polygama  (F.III:i56)  much  used  as  a potherb  (Sm.69). 

Spurge  Family. — Euphorbiacecc — Aleurites  cordata  (F. 
11:433);  fordii  (W.II:67);  A.  montana  (\V.II:64); 
A.  triloba  (Sm.i6o)  (F.IF434)  (St.23).  All  these  are 
valuable  oil  trees,  and  at  least  one  of  them,  A.  fordii,  has 
been  introduced  into  the  United  States.  Castor  bean,  Rici- 
nus  communis  (F.II:443);  Exaccaria  sebifera  (F.II:445), 
a valuable  oil  or  tallow  tree;  Jatropha  curcas,  another  oil 
producing  tree  (Sm.125). 

Staff  Family. — Celastracea — spindle  tree,  Euonymus 
chinensis  (F.I:ii9)  (F. II  :47s),  leaves  eaten  when  young. 

Sweet  Gale  Family. — Myricacece — Myrica  rubra  with 
two  varieties:  M.  rubra  (St.275)  and  M.  rubra  sapida 
(B. 42,486)  (W.II  :32)  are  the  strawberry  trees  of  Che- 
kiang, Yunnan,  and  southern  China.  Mackay,  in  From 
Far  Formosa,  identifies  the  strawberry  tree  of  Formosa 
with  Arbutus  unedo  of  the  Heath  family,  but  probably  it 
is  a M.  rubra. 

Tea  Family. — Theacea — Camellia  japonica  (St. 81) ; C. 
oleifera  (St.8i);  furnishes  the  tea  oil  used  as  a food  and 
for  light  and  the  tea-seed  cakes.  Thea  assamica  (St.82) ; 
T.  sinensis  (St.82). 

Vine  Family. — Vitacece — Vitis  hancockii  (F.U132); 


530  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

V.  henryana  (F.I:i32);  V.  heterophylla  (F.I:i33);  H 
japonica  (F.I:i34);  V.  lahrusa  (F.I:i34);  V.  vinifera 
(F.I:i36).  Brought  to  China  from  the  west  by  Chang 
K’ien  under  Emperor  Wu,  B.  C.  122. 

Walnut  Family. — brought  to  China  from  the  west  by 
Chang  K’ien  under  Emperor  Wu,  B.  C.  122.  Juglans  catJia- 
ycnsis  (W.1 :24c ) ; butternut : /.  nigra  ( W.II  :493)  i T 
(W.I:33),  and  one  more  species  (W.I:xx),  possibly  /. 
mandshuria  (E. 11:493),  possibly  J.  sieboldiana  (F.III: 

487). 

Water-lily  Family. — Nyniphaeacece — Chinese  cocks- 
head, or  Euryale  ferox  (F.III  :33)  (St. 169) ; Nelumbrium 
speciosum  (St. 278)  (W.II:3o);  Nuphar  japonicum  (St. 
287),  this  is  the  Chinese  “water  millet”;  Nymphaea  caeru- 
lia;  N.  lotus;  N.  tetragona,  yellow  water  lily  (St.288). 

Willow  Family. — Salicacece — Salix  alba,  leaves  mixed 
with  tea  leaves  and  used  for  tea ; also  eaten  when  young. 

Water  Plantain  Family. — Alismacecp — Sagittaria  sa- 
gittifolia,  a sort  of  arrow  root  is  made  from  the  tubers 
(St.389)  ; tubers  cooked  and  eaten  (W.II  :59). 

Yam  Family. — Dioscoreacece — Dioscorea  batatas  (St. 
150)  ; D.  japonica  (St.150)  ; D.  quinqueloba  (St.150) ; D. 
sativa  (St.151). 

Yew  Family. — Taxacece — Feishihe,  Torreya  nucifera 
(F.II:546);  Ginko-biloba,  this  last  species,  whose  seeds 
are  used  for  food,  “is  the  most  remarkable  tree  in  China, 
the  only  surviving  link  between  the  ferns  and  the  conifers.”* 
Mrs.  Clemens  says  it  can  even  be  traced  back  to  the  primary 
rocks.  If  so,  perhaps  it  represents  the  oldest  form  of  tree 
life  upon  our  globe. 

In  addition  to  the  species  we  have  named,  we  know  there 
are  two  more  species  of  walnut,  nine  more  of  gooseberries, 
six  of  beech  nuts,  two  of  radishes,  eleven  of  mushrooms, 


•Encyclopaedia  Britannica,  vol.  vi,  p.  171. 


APPENDIX  IV  531 

and  twelve  of  brambles,  which  are  edible,  but  which  we 
have  not  been  able  to  designate.  This  makes  519  species 
of  products  of  the  earth  in  China  which  are  eaten  by  human 
beings.  Great  Britain,  with  her  world-wide  possessions, 
ought  to  be  able  to  name  certainly  an  equal  or  greater  num- 
ber of  products  of  her  soil  which  are  eaten  by  her  people, 
including  the  residents  of  the  Indian  empire.  We  do  not 
think  any  other  nation  can  furnish  so  large  a list  of  vege- 
table foods. 


APPENDIX  V 


See  Chapter  II 

CLASSES  OF  SOCIETY  IN  CHINA 

About  B.  C.  2000  society  is  reported  as  divided  into 
three  classes:  the  agriculturists,  the  artisans,  and  the  mer- 
cantile class.  During  the  Chow  dynasty,  B.  C.  1122  to 
B.  C.  255,  society  was  divided  into  the  following  classes : 
(i)  scholars,  embracing  (a)  officials,  (&)  gentry,  or  edu- 
cated men  who  were  not  in  official  life;  (2)  farmers;  (3) 
artisans;  (4)  merchants;  (5)  servants  and  slaves.  In  books 
on  China  soldiers  are  frequently  substituted  for  servants 
and  slaves  as  constituting  the  fifth  class.  The  substitution 
is  due  to  the  fact  that  slaves  were  frequently  called  upon 
to  fight  for  the  family  when  there  was  a demand  for  such 
service.  Thus  the  two  groups  included  under  Class  5 have 
become  confused.  There  is  a tendency  in  present  political 
life  in  China  to  emphasize  the  value  of  the  army.  With 
the  growth  of  patriotism,  which  is  now  spreading  rapidly 
throughout  the  nation,  a higher  estimate  will  be  placed 
upon  the  soldier.  However  low  the  older  Chinese  estimate 
is  of  the  soldier,  nevertheless  it  has  been  true  in  China,  as 
in  every  other  country,  that  a successful  general  often  has 
come  to  the  headship  of  the  nation.  The  founder  of  a new 
dynasty  usually  has  been  a successful  general. 


532 


APPENDIX  VI 

COURSES  OF  STUDY  IN  CHINA 

See  Chapter  IV 

A.  D.  I20O-A.  D.  19 1 1 

The  following  are  the  courses  of  study  which  were  pre- 
scribed in  China  and  have  remained  unchanged  from  the 
death  of  Chu  Hsi  in  A.  D.  1200,  and  the  Four  Books  and 
Five  Classics  from  before  the  Christian  era,  down  to  A.  D. 
1911.  The  matter  in  this  Appendix  is  condensed  from 
Williams’  The  Middle  Kingdom. 

The  fifteen  text  books  of  China  are  the  following:  First 
the  six  textbooks  for  young  students: 

1.  Trimetrical  Classic. 

2.  Family  Surnames. 

3.  Thousand  Character  Classic. 

4.  Odes  for  Children. 

5.  The  Manual  or  Canon  of  Filial  Piety. 

6.  The  Juvenile  Instructor. 

These  six  books  were  followed  by  the  Four  Books ; 

7.  The  Great  Learning. 

8.  The  Just  Medium. 

9.  The  Analects  of  Confucius. 

10.  The  Book  of  Mencius. 

These  four  books  were  followed  by  another  group  called 
the  Five  Classics  as  follows : 

11.  The  I Ching,  or  Book  of  Changes. 

12.  The  Shu  Ching,  or  Book  of  Records. 

13.  The  Shih  Ching,  or  Book  of  Odes. 

14.  The  Li  Chi,  or  Book  of  Rites. 

15.  The  Spring  and  Autumn  Annals. 

533 


534  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

The  first  book,  the  Trimetrical  Classic,  was  compiled  by 
Wang  Pih-hao,  about  A.  D.  1050  for  use  in  his  private 
school.  It  was  compiled,  however,  from  earlier  materials 
and  most  of  the  matter  had  been  in  use  for  more  than  a 
thousand  years  before  its  compilation.  After  its  compila- 
tion its  use  spread  rapidly  and  it  has  been  the  accepted  text- 
book in  China  for  the  opening  of  one’s  educational  career 
since  A.  D.  1117.  It  contains  1,068  words.  This  “horn- 
book” teaches  the  value  of  education,  as  will  be  seen 
from  the  following  lines.  The  translation  by  Dr.  Legge 
seems  to  us  unduly  formal  and  heavy  with  words  unduly 
long  for  a child  of  seven.  But  the  Chinese  boy  was  not 
expected  to  understand  the  meaning  of  what  he  learned; 
he  had  simply  to  memorize  the  characters,  and  later  their 
meaning  might  become  clear  to  him.  Surely,  the  transla- 
tion will  help  Western  readers  to  realize  the  solid  and 
heavy  character  of  the  primary  textbooks  in  the  Chinese 
curriculum. 

Men  at  their  birth  are  by  nature  radically  good ; 

Though  alike  in  this,  in  practice  they  widely  diverge. 

If  not  educated,  the  natural  character  grows  worse; 

A course  of  education  is  made  valuable  by  close  attention. 

Of  old,  Mencius’s  mother  selected  a residence, 

And  when  her  son  did  not  learn,  cut  the  web. 

To  nurture  and  not  to  educate  is  a father’s  error ; 

To  educate  without  rigor  shows  a teacher’s  indolence. 

If  boys  should  not  learn  in  youth,  what  will  they  do  when  old? 

As  gems  unwrought  serve  no  useful  end, 

So  men  untaught  will  never  know  what  right  conduct  is. 

The  lines  relating  to  the  mother  of  Mencius  selecting  a 
residence  and  to  her  cutting  the  unfinished  web  show  her 
wisdom  and  determination.  The  father  of  Mencius  died 
when  he  was  three  years  old  and  the  mother  trained  the 
boy.  Her  first  home  was  near  a slaughterhouse,  and  she 
found  the  little  son  first  horrified,  then  interested,  and 
then  delighted  with  the  slaughter  of  animals.  She  moved 


APPENDIX  VI 


535 


from  that  location.  Her  second  home  was  near  a cemetery 
and  she  found  her  little  son  looking  with  interest  on  the 
funerals,  then  with  sympathy,  and  then  participating  in 
mourning  exercises  and  often  inaugurating  them  for  the 
amusement  of  himself  and  other  children.  This  also  she 
regarded  as  evil  and  moved  to  a third  home.  In  this  case 
she  located  by  the  side  of  a school,  or  by  the  home  of  a 
man  who  taught  school  in  his  house,  and  her  son  soon  be- 
came interested  in  the  school.  Accordingly,  the  mother  at 
much  sacrifice  secured  the  means  to  place  him  in  school. 
The  novelty  soon  wore  off  and  the  lad  returned  home  from 
school  one  evening  and  threw  down  his  book,  telling  his 
mother  that  he  would  never  do  any  more  hateful  studying. 
The  mother  caught  up  the  knife  and  cut  the  web  of  cloth 
which  she  was  weaving.  The  boy  in  terror  and  anger 
cried  out,  “You  have  made  impossible  my  winter  clothing.” 
The  mother  repeated  the  same  Chinese  character,  saying, 
“I  have  made  impossible  your  comfort  simply  for  the 
winter ; you  have  made  impossible  your  prospects  and  your 
comfort  for  all  of  life.”  The  boy  saw  the  danger  which 
the  mother  had  thus  vividly  portrayed,  and  picking  up  the 
book  assurred  her  that  he  would  study  faithfully.  He 
carried  out  his  promise  so  well  that  he  became  the  leading 
scholar  in  the  school  and  gradually  rose  to  the  rank  of  a 
Sage  in  China. 

The  Trimetrical  Classic  closes  with  the  following  in- 
centives for  learning : 

Formerly  Confucius  had  young  Hiang  Toh  for  his  teacher; 

Even  the  sages  of  antiquity  studied  with  diligence. 

Chau,  a minister  of  state,  read  the  Confucian  Analects, 

And  he  too,  though  high  in  office,  studied  assiduously. 

One  copied  lessons  on  reeds,  another  on  strips  of  bamboo; 

These  though  without  books,  eagerly  sought  knowledge. 

One  tied  his  head  to  a beam  and  another  pierced  his  thigh  with  an 
awl  [to  keep  awake] ; 


536  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

One  read  by  the  glow-worm’s  light,  another  by  reflection  from  the 
snow ; 

One  carried  fagots  and  another  tied  his  book  to  a cow’s  horn, 

And  while  thus  engaged  in  labor  studied  with  intensity. 

Su  Lau  Tsieuen  when  he  was  twenty-seven  years  old 
Commenced  close  study  and  applied  his  mind  to  books; 

This  man  when  old  grieved  that  he  had  commenced  so  late. 

You  who  are  young  must  early  think  of  these  things. 

Behold  Liang  Hau,  at  the  ripe  age  of  eighty-two, 

In  the  imperial  hall,  amongst  many  scholars,  gains  the  first  rank; 
This  he  accomplished  and  all  regarded  him  a prodigy. 

You,  my  young  readers,  should  now  resolve  to  be  diligent. 

Yung  when  only  eight  years  old  could  recite  the  Odes; 

Pi  at  the  age  of  seven  understood  the  game  of  chess; 

These  displayed  ability  and  all  deemed  them  to  be  rare  men; 

And  you,  my  hopeful  scholars,  ought  to  imitate  them.  . . . 

The  second  book  is  the  list  of  family  surnames. 

One  gets  some  idea  of  the  third  textbook  from  the  follow- 
ing quotation : 

Now  this  our  human  body  is  endowed 

With  four  great  powers  and  five  cardinal  virtues; 

Preserve  with  care  what  your  parents  nourished. 

How  dare  you  destroy  or  injure  it? 

Let  females  guard  their  chastity  and  purity. 

And  let  men  imitate  the  talented  and  virtuous. 

When  you  know  your  own  errors,  then  reform; 

And  when  you  have  made  acquisitions  do  not  lose  them. 

Forbear  to  complain  of  the  defects  of  other  people. 

And  cease  to  boast  of  your  own  superiority. 

Let  your  truth  be  such  as  may  be  verified, 

Your  capacities  as  to  be  measured  with  difficulty. 

Observe  and  imitate  the  conduct  of  the  virtuous. 

And  command  your  thoughts  that  you  may  be  wise. 

Your  virtue  once  fixed,  your  reputation  will  be  established; 

Your  habits  once  rectified,  your  example  will  be  correct. 

Sounds  are  reverberated  in  the  deep  valleys. 

And  the  vacant  hall  reechoes  all  it  hears; 

So  misery  is  the  penalty  of  accumulated  vice. 

And  happiness  the  reward  of  illustrious  virtue. 

A cubit  of  jade  stone  is  not  to  be  valued. 

But  an  inch  of  time  you  ought  to  contend  for. 


APPENDIX  VI 


537 


Mencius  esteemed  plainness  and  simplicity; 

And  Yu,  the  historian,  held  firmly  to  rectitude. 

These  nearly  approached  the  golden  medium. 

Being  laborious,  humble,  diligent,  and  moderate. 

Listen  to  what  is  said,  and  investigate  the  principles  explained; 
Watch  men’s  demeanor  that  you  may  distinguish  their  characters. 
Leave  behind  you  none  but  purposes  of  good ; 

And  strive  to  act  in  such  a manner  as  to  command  respect. 

The  fourth  in  the  series  of  textbooks  is  called  Odes  for 
Children,  and  contains  thirty-four  stanzas  of  four  lines 
each.  The  following  extracts  will  give  some  idea  of  its 
nature : 

It  is  of  the  utmost  importance  to  educate  children ; 

Do  not  say  that  your  families  are  poor. 

For  those  who  can  handle  well  the  pencil. 

Go  where  they  will  never  need  ask  for  favors. 

In  the  morning  I was  an  humble  cottager. 

In  the  evening  I entered  the  court  of  the  Son  of  Heaven — 

Civil  and  military  offices  are  not  hereditary; 

Men  must,  therefore,  rely  on  their  own  efforts. 

Once,  I,  myself,  was  a poor,  indigent  scholar; 

Now  I ride  mounted  in  my  four-horse  chariot. 

And  all  my  fellow  villagers  exclaim  with  surprise. 

Let  those  who  have  children  thoroughly  educate  them. 

Perhaps  nothing  is  more  frequent  in  the  Chinese  textbook 
than  the  examples  of  intelligent  young  men  rising  to  the 
highest  honors  in  the  state.  Throughout  the  centuries  the 
Chinese  have  thus  been  laying  the  foundations  for  a govern- 
ment of  the  people. 

The  fifth  textbook  is  called  The  Manual  or  Canon  of  Filial 
Piety.  It  records  the  conversation  between  Confucius  and 
his  disciple  Tsang  Tsan.  The  utmost  emphasis  is  laid  upon 
filial  duty.  It  is,  “the  root  of  virtue  and  the  stem  from 
which  instruction  in  moral  principles  springs.” 

Of  the  Four  Books  in  the  old  curriculum,  the  Just 
Medium,  was  compiled  by  Confucius’s  grandson  and  is  the 
interpretation  of  the  Chinese  philosophy  of  the  Golden 


538  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

Mean ; or  perhaps  a better  translation  makes  it  an  interpre- 
tation of  the  wisdom  of  maintaining  one’s  mental  and  moral 
balance,  one’s  proper  equilibrium,  one’s  equanimity  in  all 
the  struggles  of  life.  Number  nine  contains,  as  already 
mentioned,  the  Conversations  of  Confucius,  and  it  has  been 
very  influential  in  molding  the  life  of  China.  The  Book  of 
Mencius,  does  for  Mencius  what  the  Analects  do  for  Con- 
fucius, though  not  in  such  an  interesting  form. 

Numbers  eleven  to  fifteen  of  the  fifteen  books  constituting 
the  curriculum,  were  compiled  by  Confucius,  who  lived  B.  C. 
551-478,  and  another  one,  number  seven,  was  composed 
by  him  and  still  another  one,  number  ten,  is  made  up 
of  conversations  of  Confucius  with  his  disciples.  The  books 
compiled  by  Confucius  were  exceedingly  ancient  in  his  time. 
Indeed,  the  first  book,  the  Book  of  Changes,  was  so  old 
that  Confucius  could  not  make  out  its  meaning,  and  nobody 
has  succeeded  in  reading  much  sense  into  it  since.  It  is 
described  in  Chapter  VIII.  The  Shu  Ching  consists  of  a 
series  of  annals  compiled  by  Confucius  from  the  oldest 
documents  on  the  history  of  China  from  B.  C.  2357-637. 
Internal  evidence  leads  to  the  conviction  that  Confucius 
acted  chiefly  as  an  editor  of  documents  existing  in  his  day, 
though  not  in  existence  now.  A sample  of  the  book  is 
found  in  the  following  advice  of  Emperor  Yao,  about  B.  C. 
2357,  to  Shun,  whom  he  had  selected  as  his  successor:  “I 
admonish  you  to  be  cautious  when  there  seems  to  be  no 
reason  for  anxiety.  Do  not  fail  in  due  attention  to  laws 
and  ordinances.  Do  not  find  enjoyment  in  indulgent  ease. 
Do  not  go  to  excess  in  pleasure.  Employ  men  of  worth 
without  intermediaries.  Put  away  evil  advisers:  do  not 
try  to  carry  out  doubtful  plans.  Study  that  all  your  pur- 
poses may  be  according  to  reason.  Do  not  seek  the  people’s 
praise  to  the  extent  of  acting  against  your  own  reason, 
nor  oppose  the  people  to  follow  your  own  desires.  Be 


539 


APPENDIX  VI 

neither  idle  nor  wayward.  Thus  even  foreign  tribes  will 
come  under  your  sway.”  In  the  estimate  of  the  Chinese, 
the  Shu  Ching,  or  Book  of  Records,  contains  the  seeds  of 
all  things  that  are  valuable.  It  is  the  foundation  of  their 
history,  of  their  religious  customs,  the  basis  of  their  political 
system,  of  their  military  tactics,  of  their  music,  and  of  their 
astronomy. 

The  thirteenth  book,  the  Shih  Ching,  or  Book  of  Odes, 
contains  305  national  songs,  eulogies,  and  sacrificial  odes 
which  Confucius  preserved  from  the  ancient  writings.  Dr. 
Legge  says,  “It  was  the  duty  of  the  kings  to  make  themselves 
acquainted  with  the  odes  and  songs  current  in  the  different 
states,  and  to  judge  from  them  the  character  of  the  rule 
e.xercised  by  the  various  princes.  Apparently,  these  odes 
were  first  collected  by  Wen  Wang  approximately  B.  C. 
1122.  Their  age  is  uncertain,  but  probably  none  of  them 
antedate  B.  C.  1719.  As  these  were  edited  by  Confucius,  he 
included  odes  written  as  late  as  B.  C.  585.  It  is  difficult  to 
estimate  the  power  which  these  odes  have  had  over  subse- 
quent generations  of  Chinese  scholars.  If  they  are  lacking 
in  soul-stirring,  epic  qualities,  and  contain  little  of  human 
passion,  they  at  least  never  have  tended  to  debase  the  morals 
of  their  readers.  We  give  selections  from  three,  the  first 
as  a sample  of  admiration  for  nature,  one  as  a sample  of  a 
love  song: 

O fell  not  that  sweet  pear  tree  1 
See  how  its  branches  spread. 

Spoil  not  its  shade, 

For  Shao’s  chief  laid 
Beneath  his  weary  head.  . 

The  following  is  the  love  song: 

Maiden  fair,  so  sweet,  retiring. 

At  the  tryst  I wait  for  thee ; 

Still  I pause  in  doubt,  inquiring, 

Why  thou  triflest  thus  with  me. 


540  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

Ahl  the  maiden  coy  and  handsome. 

Pledged  she  with  a rosy  reed; 

Than  the  reed  is  she  more  winsome ; 

Love  with  beauty  hard  must  plead. 

The  third  reveals  the  family  life  of  an  emperor  and  fur- 
nishes an  estimate  of  the  relative  value  of  sons  and  daugh- 
ters : 

High  pillars  rise  the  level  court  around ; 

The  pleasant  light  the  open  chamber  steeps, 

And  deep  recesses,  wide  alcoves  are  found. 

Where  our  good  king  in  perfect  quiet  sleeps. 


Sons  shall  be  his — on  couches  lulled  to  rest; 
The  little  ones  in  robes  with  scepters  play. 


And  daughters  also  to  him  shall  be  born. 

They  shall  be  placed  upon  the  ground  to  sleep ; 

Their  playthings,  tiles ; 

Their  dress  the  simplest  worn ; 

Their  part  alike  from  good  and  ill  to  keep. 

The  fourteenth  of  these  books,  the  Li  Chi,  or  Book  of 
Rites,  is  not  adequately  translated  by  the  word  “rites.”  It  is 
the  book  of  customs,  of  conduct,  of  morals.  It  also  contains 
the  divisions  of  the  administrative  work  of  the  government; 
and  the  six  divisions  described  by  the  Book  of  Rites  are 
the  foundations  of  the  government  boards  of  to-day.  It 
will  thus  be  seen  that  the  Book  of  Rites  deals  with  very 
much  more  than  simple  ceremonies.  M.  Gallery  writes: 
“The  Li  Chi  is  the  most  exact  and  complete  monograph  that 
China  has  been  able  to  give  of  itself  to  other  nations.  . . . 
To  that  people  it  reveals  man  as  a moral,  political,  and  reli- 
gious being,  in  his  multiplied  relations  with  family  and 
country.”  We  worship  God  in  spirit  when  our  hearts  are 
right.  We  worship  God  in  truth  when  our  conduct  corre- 
sponds with  the  order  in  the  universe.  The  Book  of  Rites 
is  an  attempt  to  expound  the  last  half  of  Jesus’  statement 
to  set  forth  that  conduct  which  is  in  accord  with  the  laws 


APPENDIX  VI  541 

of  the  universe.  The  fifteenth  book  already  has  been  dis- 
cussed under  Chapter  VIII. 

In  addition  to  the  textbooks  used  in  Chinese  education, 
great  importance  was  attached  to  the  commentaries.  Indeed, 
the  commentaries  sometimes  became  of  more  importance 
than  the  book  itself.  Thus  Chu  Hsi,  who  died  in  A.  D.  1200, 
and  who  gave  a materialistic  explanation  of  the  Confucian 
text,  became  almost  as  much  as  Confucius  himself  the 
teacher  of  China  from  A.  D.  1200  to  1900;  his  life  and 
work  are  discussed  in  Chapter  IX. 


APPENDIX  VII 

See  Chapter  XVI 

ROOT-TAKAHIRA  AGREEMENT 

The  following  is  the  declaration  adopted  in  1908  between 
the  American  and  Japanese  governments  in  regard  to  Man- 
churia : 

I.  It  is  the  wish  of  the  two  governments  to  encourage 
free  and  peaceful  development  of  their  commerce  on  the 
Pacific. 

II.  The  policy  of  both  governments  is  to  maintain  the 
existing  status  quo  in  the  regions  above  mentioned,  and  to 
defend  the  principle  of  equal  opportunity  for  commerce 
and  industry  in  China. 

III.  They  are,  accordingly,  firmly  resolved  to  respect 
the  territorial  possessions  belonging  to  each  other  in  said 
regions.^ 

IV.  They  are  also  determined  to  preserve  the  common 
interests  of  all  the  Powers  in  China  by  supporting  by  all 
pacific  means  the  independence  and  integrity  of  China,  and 
the  principle  of  equal  opportunity  and  industry  of  all  nations 
in  that  empire. 

V.  Should  any  event  occur  threatening  the  status  quo 
as  above  described,  or  the  principle  of  equal  opportunity 
as  above  defined,  it  remains  for  the  two  governments  to 
communicate  with  each  other  in  order  to  arrive  at  an  under- 
standing as  to  what  measures  they  may  consider  it  useful 
to  take. 


> This  doubtless  refers  to  the  Philippines  and  Korea.  It  is  not  clear  enough 
to  enable  one  to  see  whether  or  not  it  means  respect  for  the  Japanese  occupa- 
tion of  the  railway  zone  in  Manchuria. 

542 


APPENDIX  VIII 


See  Chapter  XVI 

JAPAN’S  ORIGINAL  DEMANDS,  JANUARY  i8,  1915 

Group  I 

The  Japanese  Government  and  the  Chinese  Government 
being  desirous  of  maintaining  the  general  peace  in  Eastern 
Asia,  and  further  strengthening  the  friendly  relations  and 
good  neighborhood  existing  between  the  two  nations,  agree 
to  the  following  articles : 

Article  i.  The  Chinese  Government  engages  to  give 
full  assent  to  all  matters  upon  which  the  Japanese  Govern- 
ment may  hereafter  agree  with  the  German  Government 
relating  to  the  disposition  of  all  rights,  interests,  and  con- 
cessions which  Germany,  by  virtue  of  treaties,  or  otherwise, 
possesses  in  relation  to  the  Province  of  Shantung. 

Article  2.  The  Chinese  Government  engages  that  within 
the  Province  of  Shantung  and  along  its  coast  no  territory 
or  island  will  be  ceded  or  leased  to  a third  Power  under 
any  pretext. 

Article  3.  The  Chinese  Government  consents  to  Japan’s 
building  a railway  from  Chefoo,  or  Lungkow,  to  join  the 
Kiaochow-Tsinanfu  Railway. 

Article  4.  The  Chinese  Government  engages,  in  the 
interest  of  trade  and  for  the  residence  of  foreigners,  to 
open  by  herself  as  soon  as  possible  certain  important  cities 
and  towns  in  the  Province  of  Shantung  as  Commercial 
Ports.  What  places  are  to  be  opened  are  to  be  jointly 

decided  upon  in  a separate  agreement. 

543 


544  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


Group  II 

The  Japanese  Government  and  the  Chinese  Government, 
since  the  Chinese  Government  has  always  acknowledged  the 
special  position  enjoyed  by  Japan  in  South  Manchuria  and 
Eastern  Inner  Mongolia,  agree  to  the  following  articles : 

Article  i.  The  two  contracting  Powers  mutually  agree 
that  the  term  of  lease  of  Port  Arthur  and  Dalny,  and  the 
term  of  lease  of  the  South  Manchurian  Railway  and  the 
Antung-Mukden  Railway  shall  be  extended  to  the  period 
of  ninety-nine  years. 

Article  2.  Japanese  subjects  in  South  Manchuria  and 
Eastern  Inner  Mongolia  shall  have  the  right  to  lease  or  own 
land  required  either  for  erecting  suitable  buildings  for  trade 
and  manufacture  or  for  farming. 

Article  3.  Japanese  subjects  shall  be  free  to  reside  and 
travel  in  South  Manchuria  and  Eastern  Inner  Mongolia, 
and  to  engage  in  business  and  in  manufacture  of  any  kind 
whatsoever. 

Article  4.  The  Chinese  Government  agrees  to  grant 
to  Japanese  subjects  the  right  of  opening  mines  in  South 
Manchuria  and  Eastern  Inner  Mongolia.  As  regards  what 
mines  shall  be  opened,  they  shall  be  decided  upon  jointly. 

Article  5.  The  Chinese  Government  agrees  that  in 
respect  of  the  (two)  cases  mentioned  herein  below,  the 
Japanese  Government’s  consent  shall  be  first  obtained  before 
action  is  taken : 

(a)  Whenever  permission  is  granted  to  the  subject  of 
a third  Power  to  build  a railway  or  to  make  a loan  with  a 
third  Power  for  the  purpose  of  building  a railway  in  South 
Manchuria  and  Eastern  Inner  Mongolia. 

(b)  Whenever  a loan  is  to  be  made  with  a third  Power 
pledging  the  local  taxes  of  South  Manchuria  and  Eastern 
Inner  Mongolia  as  security. 


APPENDIX  VIII 


545 


Article  6.  The  Chinese  Government  agrees  that  if  the 
Chinese  Government  employs  political,  financial,  or  military 
advisers  or  instructors  in  South  Manchuria  or  Eastern 
Inner  Mongolia,  the  Japanese  Government  shall  first  be 
consulted. 

Article  7.  The  Chinese  Government  agrees  that  the 
control  and  management  of  the  Kirin-Changchun  Railway 
shall  be  handed  over  to  the  Japanese  Government  for  a term 
of  ninety-nine  years  dating  from  the  signing  of  this  Agree- 
ment. 

Group  III 

The  Japanese  Government  and  the  Chinese  Government, 
seeing  that  Japanese  financiers  and  the  Hanyehping  Com- 
pany have  close  relations  with  each  other  at  present,  and 
desiring  that  the  common  interests  of  the  two  nations  shall 
be  advanced,  agree  to  the  following  articles : 

Article  i.  The  two  contracting  parties  mutually  agree 
that  when  the  opportune  moment  arrives  the  Hanyehping 
Company  shall  be  made  a joint  concern  of  the  two  nations, 
and  they  further  agree  that  without  the  previous  consent 
of  Japan,  China  shall  not  by  her  own  act  dispose  of  the 
rights  and  property  of  whatsoever  nature  of  the  said  Com- 
pany nor  cause  the  said  Company  to  dispose  freely  of  the 
same. 

Article  2.  The  Chinese  Government  agrees  that  all 
mines  in  the  neighborhood  of  those  owned  by  the  Hanyeh- 
ping Company  shall  not  be  permitted,  without  the  consent 
of  the  said  Company,  to  be  worked  by  other  persons  outside 
of  the  said  Company;  and  further  agrees  that  if  it  is  desired 
to  carry  out  any  undertaking  which,  it  is  apprehended,  may 
directly  or  indirectly  affect  the  interests  of  the  said  Com- 
pany, the  consent  of  the  said  Company  shall  first  be 
obtained. 


546  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


Group  IV 

The  Japanese  Government  and  the  Chinese  Government 
with  the  object  of  effectively  preserving  the  territorial  in- 
tegrity of  China  agree  to  the  following  special  article: 

The  Chinese  Government  engages  not  to  cede  or  lease 
to  a third  Power  any  harbor  or  bay  or  island  along  the  coast 
of  China. 

Group  V 

Article  i.  The  Chinese  Central  Government  shall  em- 
ploy influential  Japanese  as  advisers  in  political,  financial, 
and  military  affairs. 

Article  2.  Japanese  hospitals,  churches,  and  schools 
in  the  interior  of  China  shall  be  granted  the  right  of  owning 
land. 

Article  3.  Inasmuch  as  the  Japanese  Government  and 
the  Chinese  Government  have  had  many  cases  of  dispute 
between  Japanese  and  Chinese  police  to  settle,  cases  which 
caused  no  little  misunderstanding,  it  is  for  this  reason  neces- 
sary that  the  police  departments  of  important  places  (in 
China)  shall  be  jointly  administered  by  Japanese  and 
Chinese,  or  that  the  police  departments  of  these  places  shall 
employ  numerous  Japanese,  so  that  they  may  at  the  same 
time  help  to  plan  for  the  improvement  of  the  Chinese  police 
service. 

Article  4.  China  shall  purchase  from  Japan  a fixed 
amount  of  munitions  of  war  (say  fifty  per  cent  or  more 
of  what  is  needed  by  the  Chinese  Government)  or  there 
shall  be  established  in  China  a Sino-Japanese  jointly  worked 
arsenal.  Japanese  technical  experts  to  be  employed  and 
Japanese  material  to  be  purchased. 

Article  5.  China  agrees  to  grant  to  Japan  the  right  of 
constructing  a railway  connecting  Wuchang  with  Kiukiang 


APPENDIX  VIII 


547 

and  Nanchang,  another  line  between  Nanchang  and  Hang- 
chow, and  another  between  Nanchang  and  Chaochou. 

Article  6.  If  China  needs  foreign  capital  to  work  mines, 
build  railways,  and  construct  harbor  works  (including  dock 
yard)  in  the  Province  of  Fukien,  Japan  shall  be  first  con- 
sulted. 

Article  7.  China  agrees  that  Japanese  subjects  shall 
have  the  right  to  propagate  Buddhism  in  China. 

Yuan  Shih-Kai  strenuously  objected  to  most  of  the 
Twenty-one  Demands,  and  positively  refused  to  sign  any 
Chinese  agreement  to  the  Seven  Demands  included  under 
Group  V.  At  the  friendly  request  of  the  United  States  and 
Great  Britain,  Japan  agreed  to  drop  Group  V from  her  list 
of  Demands,  and  presented  an  ultimatum  demanding  that 
China  accept  the  remainder  of  the  Demands  as  the  Japanese 
had  revised  them  by  six  o’clock.  May  9,  1915.  The  Chinese 
Government,  “with  a view  to  preserving  peace,”  on  May  8, 
1915,  accepted  these  Demands. 


APPENDIX  IX 


See  Chapter  XVI 

JAPAN’S  REVISED  DEMANDS 

Japan’s  Revised  Demands  on  China,  twenty-four  in  all,  pre- 
sented April  26^  1915. 

The  revised  list  of  articles  is  a Chinese  translation  of  the 
Japanese  text.  It  is  hereby  declared  that  when  a final  de- 
cision is  reached,  there  shall  be  a revision  of  the  wording 
of  the  text. 

Group  I 

The  Japanese  Government  and  the  Chinese  Government, 
being  desirous  of  maintaining  the  general  peace  in  Eastern 
Asia  and  further  strengthening  the  friendly  relations  and 
good  neighbourhood  existing  between  the  two  nations,  agree 
to  the  following  articles : 

Article  i.  The  Chinese  Government  engages  to  give 
full  assent  to  all  matters  upon  which  the  Japanese  Govern- 
ment may  hereafter  agree  with  the  German  Government, 
relating  to  the  disposition  of  all  rights,  interests  and  con- 
cessions, which  Germany,  by  virtue  of  treaties  or  other- 
wise, possesses  in  relation  to  the  Province  of  Shantung. 

Article  2.  (Changed  into  an  exchange  of  notes). 

The  Chinese  Government  declares  that  within  the  Prov- 
ince of  Shantung  and  along  its  coast  no  territory  or  island 
will  be  ceded  or  leased  to  any  Power  under  any  pretext. 

Article  3.  The  Chinese  Government  consents  that  as 
regards  the  railway  to  be  built  by  China  herself  from  Chefoo 

or  Lungkow  to  connect  with  the  Kiaochow-Tsinanfu  Rail- 

548 


APPENDIX  IX 


549 


way,  if  Germany  is  willing  to  abandon  the  privilege  of 
financing  the  Chefoo-Weihsien  line,  China  will  approach 
Japanese  capitalists  to  negotiate  for  a loan. 

Article  4.  The  Chinese  Government  engages,  in  the 
interest  of  trade  and  for  the  residence  of  foreigners,  to  open 
by  China  herself  as  soon  as  possible  certain  suitable  places 
in  the  Province  of  Shantung  as  Commercial  Ports. 

(Supplementary  Exchange  of  Notes) 

The  places  which  ought  to  be  opened  are  to  be  chosen, 
and  the  regulations  are  to  be  drafted,  by  the  Chinese  Govern- 
ment, but  the  Japanese  Minister  must  be  consulted  before 
making  a decision. 

Group  II 

The  Japanese  Government  and  the  Chinese  Government, 
with  a view  to  developing  their  economic  relations  in  South 
Manchuria  and  Eastern  Inner  Mongolia,  agree  to  the  follow- 
ing articles : 

Article  i . The  two  contracting  Powers  mutually  agree 
that  the  term  of  lease  of  Port  Arthur  and  Dalny  and  the 
terms  of  the  South  iManchuria  Railway  and  the  Antung- 
Mukden  Railway,  shall  be  extended  to  99  years. 

(Supplementary  Exchange  of  Notes) 

The  term  of  lease  of  Port  Arthur  and  Dalny  shall  expire 
in  the  86th  year  of  the  Republic,  or  1997.  The  date  for 
restoring  the  South  Manchurian  Railway  to  China  shall 
fall  due  in  the  91st  year  of  the  Republic,  or  2002.  Article 
12  in  the  original  South  Manchurian  Railway  Agreement 
that  it  may  be  redeemed  by  China  after  36  years  after  the 
traffic  is  opened  is  hereby  canceled.  The  term  of  the  Antung- 
Mukden  Railway  shall  expire  in  the  96th  year  of  the  Re- 
public, or  2007. 


550  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

Article  2.  Japanese  subjects  in  South  Manchuria  may 
lease  or  purchase  the  necessary  land  for  erecting  suitable 
buildings  for  trade  and  manufacture  or  for  prosecuting  agri- 
cultural enterprises. 

Article  3.  Japanese  subjects  shall  be  free  to  reside 
and  travel  in  South  Manchuria  and  to  engage  in  business 
and  manufacture  of  any  kind  whatsoever. 

Article  3a.  The  Japanese  subjects  referred  to  in  the 
preceding  two  articles,  besides  being  required  to  register 
with  the  local  authorities  passports  which  they  must  procure 
under  the  existing  regulations,  shall  also  submit  to  police 
laws  and  ordinances  and  tax  regulations,  which  are  ap- 
proved by  the  Japanese  consul.  Civil  and  criminal  cases  in 
which  the  defendants  are  Japanese  shall  be  tried  and  ad- 
judicated by  the  Japanese  consul ; those  in  which  the  defend- 
ants are  Chinese  shall  be  tried  and  adjudicated  by  Chinese 
authorities.  In  either  case  an  officer  can  be  deputed  to 
the  court  to  attend  the  proceedings.  But  mixed  civil  cases 
between  Chinese  and  Japanese  relating  to  land  shall  be  tried 
and  adjudicated  by  delegates  of  both  nations  conjointly  in 
accordance  with  Chinese  law  and  local  usage.  When  the 
judicial  system  in  the  said  region  is  completely  reformed, 
all  civil  and  criminal  cases  concerning  Japanese  subjects  shall 
be  tried  entirely  by  Chinese  law  courts. 

Article  4.  (Changed  to  an  exchange:  of  notes.) 

The  Chinese  Government  agrees  that  Japanese  subjects 
shall  be  permitted  forthwith  to  investigate,  select,  and  then 
prospect  for  and  open  mines  at  the  following  places  in  South 
Manchuria,  apart  from  those  mining  areas  in  which  mines 
are  being  prospected  for  or  worked;  until  the  Mining  Ordi- 
nance is  definitely  settled  methods  at  present  in  force  shall 
be  followed. 


APPENDIX  IX 

551 

PROVINCE  OF  FENG-TIEN 

Locality 

District 

Mineral 

Niu  Hsin  T’ai 

Pen-hsi 

Coal 

Tien  Shih  Fu  Kou 

Pen-hsi 

do. 

Sha  Sung  Kang 

Hai-lung 

do. 

T’ieh  Ch’ang 

T’ung-hua 

do. 

Nuan  Ti  T’ang 

Chin 

do. 

An  Shan  Chan  region 

From  Liao-yang  to 

Pen-hsi 

Iron. 

PROVINCE  OF  KIRIN 


{Southern  portion) 

Sha  Sung  Kang 

Ho-lung 

C.&I. 

Kang  Yao 

Chi-lin 

(Kirin) 

Coal 

Chia  P’i  Kou 

Hua-tien 

Gold 

Article  5.  (Changed  to  an  exchange  of  notes.) 

The  Chinese  Government  declares  that  China  will  here- 
after provide  funds  for  building  railways  in  South  Man- 
churia; if  foreign  capital  is  required,  the  Chinese  Govern- 
ment agrees  to  negotiate  for  the  loan  with  Japanese 
capitalists  first. 

Article  5a.  (Changed  to  an  exchange  of  notes.) 

The  Chinese  Government  agrees  that  hereafter,  when  a 
foreign  loan  is  to  be  made  on  the  security  of  the  taxes  of 
South  Manchuria  (not  including  customs  and  salt  revenue 
on  the  security  of  which  loans  have  already  been  made 
by  the  Central  Government),  it  will  negotiate  for  the  loan 
with  Japanese  capitalists  first. 

Article  6.  (Changed  to  an  exchange  of  notes.) 

The  Chinese  Government  declares  that  hereafter  if 


552  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

foreign  advisers  or  instructors  on  political,  financial,  mili- 
tary or  police  matters,  are  to  be  employed  in  South  Man- 
churia, Japanese  will  be  employed  first. 

Article  7.  The  Chinese  Government  agrees  speedily 
to  make  a fundamental  revision  of  the  Kirin-Changchun 
Railway  Loan  Agreement,  taking  as  a standard  the  pro- 
visions in  railway  loan  agreements  made  heretofore  between 
China  and  foreign  financiers.  If,  in  the  future,  more 
advantageous  terms  than  those  in  existing  railway  loan 
agreements  are  granted  to  foreign  financiers,  in  connection 
with  railway  loans,  the  above  agreement  shall  again  be  re- 
vised in  accordance  with  Japan’s  wishes. 

All  existing  treaties  between  China  and  Japan  relating 
to  Manchuria  shall,  except  where  otherwise  provided  for 
by  this  Convention,  remain  in  force. 

1.  The  Chinese  Government  agrees  that  hereafter  when 
a foreign  loan  is  to  be  made  on  the  security  of  the  taxes 
of  Eastern  Inner  Mongolia,  China  must  negotiate  with  the 
Japanese  Government  first. 

2.  The  Chinese  Government  agrees  that  China  will  her- 
self provide  funds  for  building  the  railways  in  Eastern  Inner 
Mongolia;  if  foreign  capital  is  required,  she  must  negotiate 
with  Japanese  Government  first. 

3.  The  Chinese  Government  agrees,  in  the  interest  of 
trade  and  for  the  residence  of  foreigners,  to  open  by  China 
herself,  as  soon  as  possible,  certain  suitable  places  in  Eastern 
Inner  Mongolia  as  Commercial  Ports.  The  places  which 
ought  to  be  opened  are  to  be  chosen,  and  the  regulations 
are  to  be  drafted,  by  the  Chinese  Government,  but  the  Japa- 
nese Minister  must  be  consulted  before  making  a decision. 

4.  In  the  event  of  Japanese  and  Chinese  desiring  jointly 
to  undertake  agricultural  enterprises  and  industries  inci- 
dental thereto,  the  Chinese  Government  shall  give  its  per- 
mission. 


553 


APPENDIX  IX 
Group  III 

The  relations  between  Japan  and  the  Hanyehping  Com- 
pany being  very  intimate,  if  those  interested  in  the  said 
Company  come  to  an  agreement  with  the  Japanese  capitalists 
for  cooperation,  the  Chinese  Government  shall  forthwith 
give  its  consent  thereto.  The  Chinese  Government  further 
agrees  that,  without  the  consent  of  the  Japanese  capitalists, 
China  will  not  convert  the  Company  into  a state  enterprise, 
nor  confiscate  it,  nor  cause  it  to  borrow  and  use  foreign 
capital  other  than  Japanese. 

Group  IV 

China  to  give  a pronouncement  by  herself  in  accordance 
with  the  following  principle : 

No  bay,  harbor,  or  island  along  the  coast  of  China  may 
be  ceded  or  leased  to  any  Power. 

Notes  to  be  Exchanged 
A 

As  regards  the  right  of  financing  a railway  from  Wu- 
chang to  connect  with  the  Kiukiang-Nanchang  line,  the 
Nanchang-Hangchow  railway,  and  the  Nanchang-Chao- 
chow  railway,  if  it  is  clearly  ascertained  that  other  Powers 
have  no  objection,  China  shall  grant  the  said  right  to  Japan. 

B 

As  regards  the  right  of  financing  a railway  from  Wu- 
chang to  connect  with  the  Kiukiang-Nanchang  railway,  a 
railway  from  Nanchang  to  Hangchow  and  another  from 
Nanchang  to  Chaochow,  the  Chinese  Government  shall  not 
grant  the  said  right,  to  any  foreign  Pozver  before  Japan 
comes  to  an  understanding  with  the  other  Power  which  is 
heretofore  interested  therein. 


554  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

Notes  to  he  Exchanged 

The  Chinese  Government  agrees  that  no  nation  whatever 
is  to  be  permitted  to  construct,  on  the  coast  of  Fukien  Prov- 
ince, a dock-yard,  a coaling  station  for  military  use,  or  a 
naval  base ; nor  to  be  authorized  to  set  up  any  other  military 
establishment.  The  Chinese  Government  further  agrees 
not  to  use  foreign  capital  for  setting  up  the  above  mentioned 
construction  or  establishment. 

Mr.  Lu,  the  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  stated  as  follows : 

1.  The  Chinese  Government  shall,  whenever,  in  future, 
it  considers  this  step  necessary,  engage  numerous  Japanese 
advisers. 

2.  Whenever,  in  future,  Japanese  subjects  desire  to  lease 
or  purchase  land  in  the  interior  of  China  for  establishing 
schools  or  hospitals,  the  Chinese  Government  shall  forth- 
with give  its  consent  thereto. 

3.  When  a suitable  opportunity  arises  in  future  the 
Chinese  Government  will  send  military  officers  to  Japan  to 
negotiate  with  Japanese  military  authorities  the  matter  of 
purchasing  arms  or  that  of  establishing  a joint  arsenal. 

Mr.  Hioki,  the  Japanese  Minister,  stated  as  follows: 

As  relates  to  the  question  of  the  right  of  missionary 
propaganda,  the  same  shall  be  taken  up  again  for  negotiation 
in  future. 


APPENDIX  X 


See  Chapter  XVI 

CHINA’S  REPLY  TO  JAPAN’S  REVISED 
DEMANDS 

China's  Reply  of  May  i,  1915,  to  the  Japanese  Revised  De- 
mands of  April  26,  1915. 

Group  I 

The  Chinese  Government  and  the  Japanese  Government, 
being  desirous  of  maintaining  the  general  peace  in  Eastern 
Asia  and  further  strengthening  the  friendly  relations  and 
good  neighbourhood  existing  between  the  two  nations,  agree 
to  the  following  articles: 

Article  i.  The  Chinese  Government  declare  that  they 
will  give  full  assent  to  all  matters  upon  which  the  Japanese 
and  German  Governments  may  hereafter  mutually  agree, 
relating  to  the  disposition  of  all  interests,  which  Germany, 
by  virtue  of  treaties  or  recorded  cases,  possesses  in  relation 
to  the  Province  of  Shantung. . 

The  Japanese  Government  declare  that  when  the  Chinese 
Government  give  their  assent  to  the  disposition  of  interests 
above  referred  to,  Japan  will  restore  the  leased  territory  of 
Kiaochow  to  China;  and  further  recognize  the  right  of  the 
Chinese  Government  to  participate  in  the  negotiations  re- 
ferred to  above  between  Japan  and  Germany. 

Article  2.  The  Japanese  Government  consent  to  be 
responsible  for  the  indemnification  of  all  losses  occasioned 
by  Japan’s  military  operation  around  the  leased  territory 
of  Kiaochow.  The  customs,  telegraphs,  and  post  offices 

556 


556  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


within  the  leased  territory  of  Kiaochow  shall,  prior  to  the 
restoration  of  the  said  leased  territory  to  China,  be  ad- 
ministered as  heretofore  for  the  time  being.  The  railways 
and  telegraph  lines  erected  by  Japan  for  military  purposes 
are  to  be  removed  forthwith.  The  Japanese  troops  now 
stationed  outside  the  original  leased  territory  of  Kiaochow 
are  now  to  be  withdrawn  first,  those  within  the  original 
leased  territory  are  to  be  withdrawn  on  the  restoration  of 
the  said  leased  territory  to  China. 

Article  3.  (Changed  to  an  exchange  of  notes.) 

The  Chinese  Government  declare  that  within  the  Province 
of  Shantung  and  along  its  coast  no  territory  or  island  will 
be  ceded  or  leased  to  any  Power  under  any  pretext. 

Article  4.  The  Chinese  Government  consent  that  as 
regards  the  railway  to  be  built  by  China  herself  from  Chefoo 
or  Lungkow  to  connect  with  the  Kiaochow-Tsinanfu  Rail- 
way, if  Germany  is  willing  to  abandon  the  privilege  of 
financing  the  Chefoo-Weihsien  line,  China  will  approach 
Japanese  capitalists  for  a loan. 

Article  5.  The  Chinese  Government  engage,  in  the 
interest  of  trade  and  for  the  residence  of  foreigners,  to 
open  by  herself  as  soon  as  possible  certain  suitable  places 
in  the  Province  of  Shantung  as  Commercial  Ports. 

(Supplementary  Exchange  of  Notes.) 

The  places  which  ought  to  be  opened  are  to  be  chosen, 
and  the  regulations  are  to  be  drafted  by  the  Chinese  Gov- 
ernment, but  the  Japanese  Minister  must  be  consulted  before 
making  a decision. 

Article  6.  If  the  Japanese  and  German  Governments 
are  not  able  to  come  to  a definite  agreement  in  future  in 
their  negotiations  respecting  transfer,  etc.,  this  provincial 
agreement  contained  in  the  foregoing  articles  shall  be 
void. 


APPENDIX  X 


557 


Group  IP 

The  Chinese  Government  and  the  Japanese  Government, 
with  a view  to  developing  their  economic  relations  in  South 
Manchuria,  agree  to  the  following  articles : 

Article  2.  Japanese  subjects  in  South  Manchuria  may, 
by  arrangement  with  the  owners,  lease  land  required  for 
erecting  suitable  buildings  for  trade  and  manufacture  or 
agriculture  enterprises. 

Article  3.  Japanese  subjects  shall  be  free  to  reside  and 
travel  in  South  Manchuria  and  to  engage  in  business  and 
manufacture  of  any  kind  whatsoever. 

Article  3a.  The  Japanese  subjects  referred  to  in  the 
preceding  two  articles,  besides  being  required  to  register 
with  the  local  authorities  passports  which  they  must  procure 
under  the  existing  regulations,  shall  also  observe  police 
rules  and  regulations  and  pay  taxes  in  the  same  manner 
as  Chinese.  Civil  and  criminal  cases  shall  be  tried  and 
adjudicated  by  the  authorities  of  the  defendant  nationality 
and  an  officer  can  be  deputed  to  attend  the  proceedings. 
But  all  cases  purely  between  Japanese  subjects  and  mixed 
cases  between  Japanese  and  Chinese,  relating  to  land  or 
disputes  arising  from  lease  contracts,  shall  be  tried  and 
adjudicated  by  Chinese  authorities  and  the  Japanese  Consul 
may  also  depute  an  officer  to  attend  the  proceedings.  When 
the  judicial  system  in  the  said  Province  is  completely  re- 
formed, all  the  civil  and  criminal  cases  concerning  Japanese 
subjects  shall  be  tried  entirely  by  Chinese  law  courts. 

Relating  to  Eastern  Inner  Mongolia 
(To  be  Exchanged  by  Notes) 

i.  The  Chinese  Government  declare  that  China  will  not 

* The  six  articles  which  are  found  in  Japan’s  Revised  Demands  of  April  26, 
1915,  but  omitted  herein,  are  those  already  initialled  by  the  Chinese  Foreign 
Minister  and  the  Japanese  Minister. 


558  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


in  future  pledge  the  taxes,  other  than  customs  and  salt 
revenue  of  that  part  of  Eastern  Inner  IMongolia  under  the 
jurisdiction  of  South  Manchuria  and  Jehol  Intendency,  as 
security  for  raising  a foreign  loan. 

2.  The  Chinese  Government  declare  that  China  will 
herself  provide  funds  for  building  the  railways  in  that  part 
of  Eastern  Inner  Mongolia  under  the  jurisdiction  of  South 
Manchuria  and  the  Jehol  Intendency;  if  foreign  capital  is 
required,  China  will  negotiate  with  Japanese  capitalists  first, 
provided  this  does  not  conflict  with  agreements  already 
concluded  with  other  Powers. 

The  Chinese  Government  agree,  in  the  interest  of  trade 
and  for  the  residence  of  foreigners,  to  open  by  China  her- 
self certain  suitable  places  in  that  part  of  Eastern  Inner 
Mongolia  under  the  jurisdiction  of  South  Manchuria  and 
the  Jehol  Intendency,  as  Commercial  Marts. 

The  regulations  for  the  said  Commercial  Marts  will  be 
made  in  accordance  with  those  of  other  Commercial  Marts 
opened  by  China  herself. 

GROUP  III 

The  relations  between  Japan  and  the  Hanyehping  Com- 
pany being  very  intimate,  if  the  said  Company  comes  to 
an  agreement  with  the  Japanese  capitalists  for  cooperation, 
the  Chinese  Government  shall  forthwith  give  their  consent 
thereto.  The  Chinese  Government  further  declare  that 
China  will  not  convert  the  company  into  a state  enterprise, 
nor  confiscate  it,  nor  cause  it  to  borrow  and  use  foreign 
capital  other  than  Japanese. 

Letter  to  be  addressed  by  the  Japanese  Minister  to  the 

Chinese  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs. 

Excellency:  I have  the  honor  to  state  that  a report  has 
reached  me  that  the  Chinese  Government  have  given  per- 
mission to  foreign  nation  to  construct,  on  the  coast  of 


APPENDIX  X 


559 


Fukien  Province,  dock-yards,  coaling  stations  for  military 
use,  naval  bases  and  other  establishments  for  military  pur- 
poses; and  further,  that  the  Chinese  Government  are 
borrowing  foreign  capital  for  putting  up  the  above-men- 
tioned constructions  or  establishments.  I shall  be  much 
obliged,  if  the  Chinese  Government  will  inform  me  whether 
or  not  these  reports  are  well  founded  in  fact. 

Reply  to  he  addressed  by  the  Chinese  Minister  of  Foreign 

Affairs  to  the  Japanese  Minister. 

Excellency;  I have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt 

of  your  Excellency’s  Note  of In  reply  I beg  to  state 

that  the  Chinese  Government  have  not  given  permission  to 
foreign  Powers  to  construct,  on  the  coast  of  Fukien  Prov- 
ince, dock-yards,  coaling  stations  for  military  use,  naval 
bases  or  other  establishments  for  military  purposes;  nor 
do  they  contemplate  to  borrow  foreign  capital  for  putting 
up  such  constructions  or  establishments. 


APPENDIX  XI 


See  Chapter  XVI 

JAPAN’S  ULTIMATUM  TO  CHINA 

Japan’s  Ultimatum  delivered  by  the  Japanese  Minister  to 

the  Chinese  Government,  on  May  yth,  1915. 

The  reason  why  the  Imperial  Government  opened  the 
present  negotiations  with  the  Chinese  Government  is  first 
to  endeavor  to  dispose  of  the  complications  arising  out  of 
the  war  between  Japan  and  Germany,  and,  secondly,  to 
attempt  to  solve  those  various  questions  which  are  detri- 
mental to  the  intimate  relations  of  China  and  Japan  with 
a view  to  solidifying  the  foundation  of  cordial  friendship 
subsisting  between  the  two  countries  to  the  end  that  the 
peace  of  the  Far  East  may  be  effectually  and  permanently 
preserved.  With  this  object  in  view,  definite  proposals  were 
presented  to  the  Chinese  Government  in  January  of  this 
year,  and  up  to  to-day  as  many  as  twenty-five  conferences 
have  been  held  with  the  Chinese  Government  in  perfect 
sincerity  and  frankness. 

In  the  course  of  the  negotiation  the  Imperial  Government 
have  consistently  explained  the  aims  and  objects  of  the 
proposals  in  a conciliatory  spirit,  while  on  the  other  hand 
the  proposals  of  the  Chinese  Government,  whether  impor- 
tant or  unimportant,  have  been  attended  to  without  any 
reserve. 

It  may  be  stated  with  confidence  that  no  effort  has  been 
spared  to  arrive  at  a satisfactory  and  amicable  settlement 
of  those  questions. 


560 


APPENDIX  XI 


561 


The  discussion  of  the  entire  corpus  of  the  proposals 
was  practically  at  an  end  at  the  twenty-fourth  conference; 
that  is  on  17th  of  the  last  month.  The  Imperial  Govern- 
ment, taking  a broad  view  of  the  negotiation  and  in  con- 
sideration of  the  points  raised  by  the  Chinese  Government, 
modified  the  original  proposals  with  considerable  conces- 
sions and  presented  to  the  Chinese  Government  on  the  26th 
of  the  same  month  the  revised  proposals  for  agreement, 
and  at  the  same  time  it  was  offered  that,  on  the  acceptance 
of  the  revised  proposals,  the  Imperial  Government  would, 
at  a suitable  opportunity,  restore,  with  fair  and  proper 
conditions,  to  the  Chinese  Government  the  Kiaochow  terri- 
tory, in  the  acquisition  of  which  the  Imperial  Government 
had  made  a great  sacrifice. 

On  the  1st  of  May,  the  Chinese  Government  delivered 
the  reply  to  the  revised  proposals  of  the  Japanese  Govern- 
ment, which  is  contrary  to  the  expectations  of  the  Imperial 
Government.  The  Chinese  Government  not  only  did  not 
give  a careful  consideration  to  the  revised  proposals  but 
even  with  regard  to  the  offer  of  the  Japanese  Government 
to  restore  Kiaochow  to  the  Chinese  Government  the  latter 
did  not  manifest  the  least  appreciation  for  Japan’s  goodwill 
and  difficulties. 

From  the  commercial  and  military  points  of  view  Kiao- 
chow is  an  important  place,  in  the  acquisition  of  which  the 
Japanese  Empire  sacrificed  much  blood  and  money,  and, 
after  the  acquisition  the  Empire  incurs  no  obligation  to 
restore  it  to  China.  But  with  the  object  of  increasing  the 
future  friendly  relations  of  the  two  countries,  they  went 
to  the  extent  of  proposing  its  restoration,  yet  to  her  great 
regret,  the  Chinese  Government  did  not  take  into  consider- 
ation the  good  intention  of  Japan  and  manifest  appreciation 
of  her  difficulties.  Furthermore,  the  Chinese  Government 
not  only  ignored  the  friendly  feelings  of  the  Imperial  Gov- 


562  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

ernment  in  offering  the  restoration  of  Kiaochow  Bay,  but 
also  in  replying  to  the  revised  proposals  they  even  demanded 
its  unconditional  restoration;  and  again  China  demanded 
that  Japan  should  bear  the  responsibility  of  paying  in- 
demnity for  all  the  unavoidable  losses  and  damages  result- 
ing from  Japan’s  military  operations  at  Kiaochow;  and 
still  further  in  connection  with  the  territory  of  Kiaochow 
China  advanced  other  demands  and  declared  that  she  has 
the  right  of  participation  at  the  future  peace  conference 
to  be  held  between  Japan  and  Germany.  Although  China 
is  fully  aware  that  the  unconditional  restoration  of  Kiao- 
chow and  Japan’s  responsibility  of  indemnification  for  the 
unavoidable  losses  and  damages  can  never  be  tolerated  by 
Japan,  yet  she  purposely  advanced  these  demands  and  de- 
clared that  this  reply  was  final  and  decisive. 

Since  Japan  could  not  tolerate  such  demands,  the  settle- 
ments of  the  other  questions,  however  compromising  it  may 
be,  would  not  be  to  her  interest.  The  consequence  is  that 
the  present  reply  of  the  Chinese  Government  is,  on  the 
whole,  vague  and  meaningless. 

Furthermore,  in  the  reply  of  the  Chinese  Government 
to  the  other  proposals  in  the  revised  list  of  the  Imperial 
Government,  such  as  South  Manchuria  and  Eastern  Inner 
Mongolia,  where  Japan  particularly  has  geographical,  com- 
mercial, industrial,  and  strategic  relations,  as  recognized 
by  all  the  nations,  and  made  more  remarkable  in  conse- 
quence of  the  two  wars  in  which  Japan  was  engaged,  the 
Chinese  Government  overlooks  these  facts  and  does  not 
respect  Japan’s  position  in  that  place.  The  Chinese  Govern- 
ment even  freely  altered  those  articles  which  the  Imperial 
Government,  in  a compromising  spirit,  have  formulated  in 
accordance  with  the  statement  of  the  Chinese  Represen- 
tatives, thereby  making  the  statements  of  the  Representa- 
tives an  empty  talk ; and  on  seeing  them  conceding  with  the 


APPENDIX  XI 


one  hand  and  withholding  with  the  other  it  is  very  difficult 
to  attribute  faithfulness  and  sincerity  to  the  Chinese  au- 
thorities. 

As  regards  the  articles  relating  to  the  employment  of 
advisers,  the  establishment  of  schools  and  hospitals,  the 
supply  of  arms  and  ammunition  and  the  establishment  of 
arsenals  and  railway  concessions  in  South  China  in  the 
revised  proposals  they  were  either  proposed  with  the  pro- 
viso that  the  consent  of  the  Power  concerned  must  be 
obtained,  or  they  are  merely  to  be  recorded  in  the  minutes 
in  accordance  with  the  statements  of  the  Chinese  delegates, 
and  thus  they  are  not  in  the  least  in  conflict  either  with 
Chinese  sovereignty  or  her  treaties  with  the  Foreign 
Powers,  yet  the  Chinese  Government  in  their  reply  to  the 
proposals,  alleging  that  these  proposals  are  incompatible 
with  their  sovereign  rights  and  treaties  with  Foreign 
Powers,  defeat  the  expectations  of  the  Imperial  Govern- 
ment. However,  in  spite  of  such  attitude  of  the  Chinese 
Government,  the  Imperial  Government,  though  regretting 
to  see  that  there  is  no  room  for  further  negotiations,  yet 
warmly  attached  to  the  preservation  of  the  peace  of  the 
Far  East,  is  still  hoping  for  a satisfactory  settlement  in 
order  to  avoid  the  disturbance  of  the  relations. 

So  in  spite  of  the  circumstances  which  admitted  no 
patience,  they  have  reconsidered  the  feelings  of  the  Govern- 
ment of  their  neighboring  country  and,  with  the  exception 
of  the  article  relating  to  Fukien,  which  is  to  be  the  subject 
of  an  exchange  of  notes  as  has  already  been  agreed  upon 
by  the  Representatives  of  both  nations,  will  undertake  to 
detach  the  Group  V.  from  the  present  negotiation  and  dis- 
cuss it  separately  in  the  future.  Therefore  the  Chinese 
Government  should  appreciate  the  friendly  feelings  of  the 
Imperial  Government  by  immediately  accepting  without  any 
alteration  all  the  articles  of  Group  I,  II,  III,  and  IV  and 


564  CHINA;  AN  INTERPRETATION 


the  exchange  of  notes  in  connection  with  Fukien  Province 
in  Group  V as  contained  in  the  revised  proposals  presented 
on  the  26th  of  April. 

The  Imperial  Government  hereby  again  offer  their  advice 
and  hope  that  the  Chinese  Government,  upon  this  advice, 
will  give  a satisfactory  reply  by  six  o’clock  p.  M.  on  the 
9th  day  of  May.  It  is  hereby  declaied  that  if  no  satisfac- 
tory reply  is  received  before  or  at  the  specified  time,  the 
Imperial  Government  will  take  steps  they  may  deem  neces- 
sary. 

Explanatory  Note 

Accompanying  Ultimatum  delivered  to  the  Minister  of 

Foreign  Affairs  by  the  Japanese  Minister,  May  yth,  1915. 

1.  With  the  exception  of  the  question  of  Fukien  to  be 
arranged  by  an  exchange  of  notes,  the  five  articles  post- 
poned for  later  negotiation  refer  to  (a)  the  employment 
of  advisers,  {h)  the  establishment  of  schools  and  hospitals, 
(c)  the  railway  concessions  in  South  China,  (d)  the  supply 
of  arms  and  ammunition  and  the  establishment  of  arsenals 
and  {e)  right  of  Missionary  propaganda. 

2.  The  acceptance  by  the  Chinese  Government  of  the 
article  relating  to  Fukien  may  be  either  in  the  form  as 
proposed  by  the  Japanese  Minister  on  the  26th  of  April  or 
in  that  contained  in  the  Reply  of  the  Chinese  Government 
of  May  1st.  Although  the  Ultimatum  calls  for  the  immedi- 
ate acceptance  by  China  of  the  modified  proposals  presented 
on  April  26th  without  alteration,  but  it  should  be  noted 
that  it  merely  states  the  principle  and  does  not  apply  to  this 
article  and  Articles  4 and  5 of  this  note. 

3.  If  the  Chinese  Government  accept  all  the  articles  as 
demanded  in  the  Ultimatum,  the  offer  of  the  Japanese  Gov- 
ernment to  restore  Kiaochow  to  China  made  on  the  26th 
of  April,  will  still  hold  good. 


APPENDIX  XI 


565 


■4.  Article  2 of  Group  II  relating  to  the  lease  or  pur- 
chase of  land,  the  terms  “lease”  and  “purchase”  may  be 
replaced  by  the  terms  “temporary  lease”  and  “perpetual 
lease”  or  “lease  on  consultation,”  which  means  a long-term 
lease  with  its  unconditional  renewal. 

Article  4 of  Group  II  relating  to  the  approval  of  Police 
laws  and  Ordinances  and  local  taxes  by  the  Japanese  Consul 
may  form  the  subject  of  a secret  agreement. 

5.  The  phrase  “to  consult  with  the  Japanese  Govern- 
ment” in  connection  with  questions  of  pledging  the  local 
taxes  for  raising  loans  and  the  loans  for  the  construction 
of  railways  in  Eastern  Inner  Mongolia,  which  is  similar 
to  the  agreement  in  Manchuria  relating  to  the  matters  of 
the  same  kind,  may  be  replaced  by  the  phrase  “to  consult 
with  the  Japanese  capitalists.” 

The  article  relating  to  the  opening  of  trade  marts  in 
Eastern  Inner  Mongolia  in  respect  to  location  and  regula- 
tions, may,  following  the  precedent  set  in  Shantung,  be 
the  subject  of  an  exchange  of  notes. 

6.  From  the  phrase  “those  interested  in  the  Company” 
in  Group  III  of  the  revised  list  of  demands,  the  words 
“those  interested  in”  may  be  deleted. 

7.  The  Japanese  version  of  the  Formal  Agreement  and 
its  annexes  shall  be  the  official  text  or  both  the  Chinese 
and  Japanese  shall  be  the  official  texts. 


APPENDIX  XII 


See  Chapter  XVI 

CHINA’S  ACCEPTANCE  OF  JAPAN’S  ULTI- 
MATUM 

Reply  of  the  Chinese  Government  to  the  Ultimatum  of  the 
Japanese  Government,  delivered  to  the  Japanese  Minister 
by  the  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  on  the  8th  of  May, 

1915. 

On  the  7th  of  this  month,  at  three  o’clock  p.  m.,  the 
Chinese  Government  received  an  Ultimatum  from  the  Japa- 
nese Government  together  with  an  Explanatory  Note  of 
seven  articles.  The  Ultimatum  concluded  with  the  hope 
that  the  Chinese  Government  by  six  o’clock  p.  m.  on  the 
9th  of  May,  will  give  a satisfactory  reply,  and  it  is  hereby 
declared  that  if  no  satisfactory  reply  is  received  before 
or  at  the  specified  time,  the  Japanese  Government  will  take 
steps  she  may  deem  necessary. 

The  Chinese  Government,  with  a view  to  preserving  the 
peace  of  the  Far  East,  hereby  accepts,  with  the  exception 
of  those  five  articles  of  Group  V.  postponed  for  later 
negotiation,  all  the  articles  of  Groups  I,  II,  III,  and  IV,  and 
the  exchange  of  notes  in  connection  with  Fukien  Province 
in  Group  V as  contained  in  the  revised  proposals  presented 
on  the  26th  of  April,  and  in  accordance  with  the  Explana- 
tory Note  of  seven  articles  accompanying  the  Ultimatum 
of  the  Japanese  Government  with  the  hope  that  thereby 
all  the  outstanding  questions  are  settled,  so  that  the  cordial 

566 


APPENDIX  XII 


567 


relationship  between  the  two  countries  may  be  further 
consolidated.  The  Japanese  Minister  is  hereby  requested 
to  appoint  a day  to  call  at  the  Ministry  of  Foreign  Affairs 
to  make  the  literary  improvement  of  the  text  and  sign  the 
Agreement  as  soon  as  possible. 


APPENDIX  XIII 


CHINESE  DYNASTIES 


NO. 

DATE 

DURATION 

OF 

RULERS 

I.  Hia 

■ B.  C.  2205-1766. . . . 

. .439  years.  . 

— 17 

2.  Shang 

■ B.  C.  1766-1122. . . . 

28 

3.  Chow 

.B.  C.  1 122-255 

34 

4.  Tsin 

. B.  C.  255-206 

2 

5.  Han 

■ B.  C.  206-A.  D.  25. 

. .231  3'ears. . . 

14 

6.  East  Han 

. A.  D.  25-22 1 

. . 196  years.  . 

....  12 

7.  After  Han 

■ A.  D.  221-264 

. .43  years. . . 

....  2 

8.  Tsin 

. A.  D.  264-322 

. .58  years.  . . 

4 

9.  East  Tsin 

.A.  D.  322-419 

....  II 

10.  Sung 

• A.  D.  420-478 

. . 58  years . . . 

8 

II.  Tsi 

.A.  D.  479-502 

5 

12.  Liang 

.A.  D.  502-556 

. . 54  years . . . 

4 

13.  Chin 

•A.  D.  557-589 

. . 32  years. . . . 

5 

14.  Sui 

■ A.  D.  589-619 

. . 30  years . . . 

3 

15.  Tang 

. A.  D.  620-907 

....  20 

16.  After  Liang 

■ A.  D.  907-923 

. . 16  years.  . . 

....  2 

17.  After  Tang 

.A.  D.  923-936 

. . 13  years.  . . 

4 

ik  After  Tsin 

.A.  D.  936-946 

. . 10  years.  . . 

....  2 

19.  After  Han 

■A.  D.  947-951 

. . 4 years .... 

2 

20.  After  Chow 

• A.  D.  951-960 

. . 9 years .... 

3 

21.  Sung 

.A.  D.  960-1127 . . . . 

. . 167  years . . 

9 

22.  South  Sung 

.A.  D.  1127-1280.  . . 

. . 153  years.  . 

9 

23.  Yuen 

.A.  D.  1280-1368 . . . 

. - 88  vears . . . 

....  0 

(the  Mongol  dynasty) 

24.  Ming 

• A.  D.  1368-1644. . . 

. .276  years.  . 

....  16 

25.  Tsing  or  Manchu 

.A.  D.  1644-1911 . . . 

. .267  years. . 

....  10 

668 


APPENDIX  XIV 


OUTLINE  OF  CHINESE  HISTORY 
Hia  Dynasty — B.  C.  2205-1766 

B.  C.  2205 — Yu  the  Great  takes  the  throne.  He  was  so 
interested  in  his  people’s  welfare  that  on  occasion  he 
was  interrupted  three  times  while  washing  and  had  to 
bundle  up  his  hair  to  respond  to  calls  for  his  advice. 
And  on  another  occasion  he  was  interrupted  ten  times 
during  his  meal  and  responded  each  time  to  his  people’s 
wants.  He  punished  I-ti,  the  inventor  of  sweet  spirits, 
because  he  feared  drink  would  prove  dangerous  to 
posterity.  He  had  metal  money  cast  to  redeem  children 
sold  by  their  parents  because  of  the  famine. 

B.  C.  1996 — Six  barbarian  nations  made  their  submission. 
The  five  titles  of  nobility  were  first  used.  Feudalism. 

B.  C.  1877 — was  cast  into  swords. 

B.  C.  1766 — Hia  dynasty  disappears  through  corruption. 

Shang  Dynasty — B.  C.  1766-1122 

B.  C.  1760 — The  emperor  confesses  his  faults  to  heaven 
because  of  the  drought.  This  is  the  beginning  of  the 
imperial  usurpation  of  the  worship  of  heaven. 

B.  C.  1637 — Reforms  inaugurated : the  aged,  the  sick,  and 
those  in  trouble  cared  for.  Carriages  were  also  made 
at  this  time. 

B.  C.  1293 — Notice  of  the  first  war  with  the  Huns.  These 
wars  continue  down  to  the  present  time. 

B.  C.  1154 — First  notice  of  the  ivory  chopsticks. 

B.  C.  1123 — The  Shang  dynasty  disappears  through  cor- 
ruption. 


569 


570  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

Chow  Dynasty — B.  C.  1 122-255 

B.  C.  1122 — The  emperor  Wu  reforms  taxation,  prescribes 
a land  tax  of  one  tenth  of  the  produce  of  every  family 
having  one  hundred  moil — equal  to  about  fifteen  acres 
of  land.  The  emperor  also  established  schools,  admis- 
sion to  which  was  open  to  all  upon  equal  terms. 

B.  C.  1120 — Sacrifices  to  one  hundred  gods — a clear  recog- 
nition of  polytheism. 

B.  C.  mo — A compass  with  the  needle  pointing  south  was 
presented  to  an  envoy  from  Tongkin  who  had  brought 
presents  to  the  emperor.  The  compass  is  said  to  have 
been  invented  B.  C.  2700,  but  we  have  no  reliable  evi- 
dence of  its  use  until  A.  D.  1122  or  A.  D.  1287.  See 
Chap.  III.  It  is  still  made  in  China  so  that  the  needle 
points  south. 

B.  C.  1103 — A mint  established,  and  round  coins  with 
square  holes  in  the  center  were  cast.  This  is  the  present 
shape  of  the  Chinese  cash — coins  of  about  one  tenth  of 
a cent  in  value. 

B.  C.  952 — Lu’s  essay  on  criminal  punishments  published. 
He  advocates  a money  payment  for  all  crimes.  Chinese 
judges  have  been  noted  for  their  prostitution  of  criminal 
laws  in  return  for  bribes. 

B.  C.  897 — Yangtze  and  Han  Rivers  frozen  and  a terrible 
hail  storm  kills  horses  and  cattle. 

B.  C.  894 — The  feudal  lords  became  so  powerful  that  the 
emperor  was  obliged  to  do  them  honor. 

B.  C.  816 — The  emperor  declined  to  perform  the  ancient 
rite  of  plowing.  This  rite  was  observed  down  to  the 
fall  of  the  Manchu  dynasty  in  order  to  show  that  farm- 
ing is  honorable. 

B.  C.  806 — The  emperor  having  arisen  late  for  several 
mornings,  the  Empress  Kiang  Hou  begged  to  be  pun- 


APPENDIX  XIV 


5/1 


ished  for  his  neglect  of  business,  on  the  ground  that 
the  fault  must  be  hers.  It  has  been  customary  down 
to  the  present  time  for  the  ruler  to  begin  business  at 
3 to  4 A.  M. 

B.  C.  785 — Tso  Ju  protested  to  the  emperor  against  his 
sentiments  in  regard  to  Tu  Pe,  a just  man.  On  the 
emperor  executing  Tu  Pe,  Tso  Ju  committed  suicide — 
the  first  case  reported  of  the  common  Chinese  practice 
of  killing  oneself  in  the  presence  of  or  on  the  premises 
of  another  who  has  sinned.  This  is  the  strongest  evi- 
dence one  can  give  of  the  justice  of  his  case.  Besides, 
the  Chinese  believe  that  the  spirit  of  the  deceased  will 
haunt  the  place  where  the  suicide  takes  place,  and 
punish  the  owner  of  the  property  for  his  ill  deeds. 

B.  C.  686 — First  notice  of  evaporation  of  sea  water  to 
obtain  salt. 

B.  C.  621 — At  Duke  Muh’s  death,  177  persons  were  buried 
alive  with  him — the  first  record  of  this  brutal  custom. 
The  people  feeling  compassion  for  the  victims,  com- 
posed the  ode  found  in  the  Shih  Ching,  or  Book  of 
Poetry,  i,  2,  6. 

B.  C.  594 — Ground  rent  was  doubled,  raising  the  tax  to  one 
fifth  of  the  produce  of  the  land. 

B.  C.  551 — Confucius  was  born  in  Chang  Ping  district, 
state  of  Lu,  at  a small  town  now  called  Chiifu — a few 
miles  south  of  Taianfu.  Taianfu  is  on  the  railway 
between  Nanking  and  Tientsin.  Confucius  died  B.  C. 
478. 

B.  C.  540 — Some  knowledge  of  botany,  of  human  anatomy, 
and  of  medicine. 

B.  C.  372 — Mencius  born  at  Tsou,  in  state  of  Lu,  a few 
miles  south  of  Chiifu.  Mencius  died  B.  C.  289. 

B.  C.  321 — An  ivory  bedstead  worth  1,000  pieces  of  silver 


572  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


offered  the  envoy  from  another  country  as  a present, 
but  declined. 

B.  C.  255 — Chow  dynasty  disappears  through  corruption 
and  violence. 

Tsin  Dynasty — B.  C.  255-206 

B.  C.  244 — A crushing  defeat  of  the  Huns;  100,000  horse- 
men killed. 

B.  C.  243 — Locust  pestilence  and  a great  famine.  Literary 
honors  were  now  openly  sold.  A literary  degree  was 
offered  for  133  pounds  of  grain  to  relieve  the  famine 
stricken.  The  sale  of  literary  degrees  by  the  state  was 
a fruitful  source  of  corruption  down  to  1905. 

B.  C.  221 — Wang  Pan,  the  Napoleon  of  China,  succeeded 
in  abolishing  feudalism  and  uniting  all  the  states  of 
China  under  himself.  He  combined  the  titles  of  the 
three  great  sovereigns  and  the  five  great  emperors  of 
antiquity  into  one  title,  Hwang-ti,  which  he  now 
assumed  for  himself,  calling  himself,  Shi  Hwang-ti. 

B.  C.  214 — Shi  Hwang-ti  built  the  Great  Wall,  or  at  least 
brought  it  to  a conclusion;  employing  his  army  for 
over  ten  years  in  the  task.  The  wall  is,  including  ex- 
tensions, 2,700  miles  long,  and  is  still  standing,  though 
it  has  been  repaired  and  in  places  rebuilt  since  it  was 
originally  erected.  As  against  horsemen  armed  with 
bows  and  arrows  and  spears,  it  is  quite  as  valuable 
for  a defense  and  vastly  more  lasting  than  are  our 
modern  navies. 

Shi  Hwang-ti  ordered  all  the  ancient  books  burned 
except  those  of  medicine,  agriculture,  and  divination. 
He  did  this  first,  because  he  did  not  like  to  have  scholars 
appealing  to  the  Classics  for  precedents  in  condemna- 
tion of  his  tyrannical  practices;  and,  second,  because 
he  wanted  to  redate  all  Chinese  history  from  his  own 


APPENDIX  XIV 


573 


reig^.  He  buried  alive  four  hundred  scholars  for 
attempting  to  conceal  the  Classics,  including  the  ancient 
history  of  China,  and  thus  save  them  from  destruction. 

B.  C.  207 — The  Tsin  dynasty  perished. 

Han  Dynasty — B.  C.  206-A.  D.  25 

B.  C.  202 — The  first  poll  tax  of  120  cash,  or  about  twenty 
cents,  gold,  per  head  on  all  men  between  the  ages  of 
fifteen  and  twenty-six. 

B.  C.  180 — Overflow  of  the  Yangtze  and  the  Han  Rivers. 

B.  C.  168 — The  Yellow  River  broke  its  hanks  and  flooded 
Honan  and  Shantung. 

B.  C.  156 — The  size  of  the  bamboo  used  for  flogging  was 
fixed  at  a length  of  five  feet,  one  inch  in  diameter  at 
the  handle,  and  half  an  inch  at  the  end,  with  the  further 
prescription  that  the  knots  must  be  removed. 

B.  C.  149 — Great  earthquake,  with  reports  of  hailstones 
twenty  inches  in  circumference. 

B.  C.  147 — Distillation  of  spirits  prohibited. 

B.  C.  145 — Ssu-ma  Ch’ien  born,  author  of  valuable  his- 
torical records. 

B.  C.  143 — Earthquakes  for  twenty-three  days. 

B.  C.  136 — Professors  in  the  Five  Classics  appointed.  This 
shows  that  Shi  Hwang-ti  did  not  succeed  in  destroying 
all  the  copies  of  the  Classics. 

B.  C.  129 — First  registration  of  transport  wagons. 

Huns  beaten  back  by  use  of  war  chariots. 

B.  C.  123 — Honors  sold.  Also  a pardon  for  crimes  sold. 

B.  C.  122 — Chang  K’ien  returned  from  a long  mission  to 
other  countries,  bringing  to  China  the  walnut,  the 
knotted  bamboo,  hemp,  and  the  grape,  and  also  the 
art  of  making  wine. 

B.  C.  1 18 — Taxation  reformed.  A uniform  tax  of  five  per 
cent  was  imposed  on  all  property  without  exemption. 


574  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

Self-valuation  of  property  was  ordered,  and  false  esti- 
mates were  punished  with  confiscation;  the  informer 
receiving  one  half  of  the  confiscated  property — another 
fruitful  source  of  corruption. 

B.  C.  lOo — Su  Wu  sent  on  a mission  to  the  Huns  and  was 
imprisoned  for  nineteen  years.  He  remained  faithful 
to  China,  and  on  his  escape  and  return  was  made 
minister  of  foreign  affairs. 

Lectures  on  the  Classics  were  inaugurated  and  good 
scholars  promoted. 

B.  C.  6 1 — Tibet  was  subdued. 

B.  C.  54 — First  notice  of  granaries  for  the  storing  of  grain. 

B.  C.  51 — Portraits  of  eleven  meritorious  statesmen  were 
placed  in  Unicorn  Hall,  which  had  been  built  as  a hall 
in  which  to  store  away  prohibited  books. 

Confucianists  were  appointed  to  lecture  on  the  Five 
Classics.  1,000  students  or  more  are  reported  as  in 
attendance  on  the  lectures. 

B.  C.  28 — The  Yellow  River  embankments  were  mended 
by  bamboo  baskets  filled  with  stone — a favorite  method 
of  controlling  water  to  this  day. 

B.  C.  26 — Liu  Hiang  was  commissioned  to  revise  the  books, 
and  for  this  purpose  collected  valuable  books  from  all 
possible  sources. 

B.  C.  16 — Liu  Fliang  published  his  Account  of  Famous 
Women. 

B.  C.  8 — Kung  Kie,  the  thirteenth  descendant  of  Confucius, 
was  ennobled  as  a prince. 

B.  C.  7 — Experts  on  the  Yellow  River  report  three  plans 
for  controlling  it:  first,  the  best  plan  is  to  lead  the 
water  to  the  sea;  second,  a good  plan  is  to  divide  the 
water  and  carry  it  over  all  the  land  by  canals;  third, 
the  worst  plan  is  to  rai.se  the  banks  higher.  This  shows 
that  Chinese  engineers  were  at  work  upon  the  same 


APPENDIX  XIV 


575 


problem  then  which  modern  engineers  are  now  work- 
ing upon  in  China.  There  is  a proverb  in  China  said 
to  date  2,000  years  B.  C.  still  inscribed  upon  a stone 
monument  at  the  head  of  the  Min  River  in  Szechwan, 
to  the  effect,  “Dig  deep  the  ditch ; keep  low  the  dykes.” 

B.  C.  I — Tung  Hien  was  degraded  and  killed  himself,  and 
his  property,  amounting  to  “4,300,000,000,”  is  con- 
fiscated. The  record  does  not  tell  whether  this  amount 
refers  to  taels  or  cash,  or  pieces  of  gold,  but  it  is  the 
first  recorded  case  of  a practice  quite  frequent  in  China 
of  making  a charge  against  a wealthy  man,  procuring 
his  death  and  confiscating  his  property. 

East  Han  Dynasty — A.  D.  25-221 

A.  D.  39 — Statistics  ordered  of  all  arable  land,  and  of  all 
inhabitants. 

A.  D.  56 — Tai  Shan,  a mountain  in  Shantung,  is  referred 
to.  This  mountain  had  been  worshiped  for  countless 
generations  before  Christ.  The  great  emperor  Shi 
Hwang-ti  had  worshiped  here  about  B.  C.  200.  It  is 
still  a sacred  mountain  and  large  bands  of  pilgrims 
visit  it  every  spring  for  purposes  of  worship.  Perhaps 
it  is  the  oldest  sacred  mountain  with  continuous  wor- 
ship on  the  earth.  We  have  seen  stones  said  to  have 
been  taken  from  this  mountain  as  far  south  as  the 
Fukien  Province,  and  as  far  west  as  the  Szechwan 
Province. 

A.  D.  60 — Lady  Ma  made  empress.  She  was  fond  of  learn- 
ing and  negligent  in  dress. 

A.  D.  61-67 — The  emperor,  having  heard  that  the  true 
religion  had  been  discovered  in  the  west,  sent  learned 
men  to  bring  it  to  China.  After  a seven  years’  search, 
they  returned  to  China  with  Buddhism.  Is  it  possible 
that  a report  of  Christ  had  reached  China?  What 


5/6  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


might  have  been  the  effect  had  these  messengers  suc- 
ceeded in  reaching  western  Asia  and  brought  back  a 
letter  from  Saint  Paul  telling  the  Chinese  of  the  true 
Christ ! 

A.  D.  72 — In  order  to  placate  the  advocates  of  Confucius 
against  Buddhism,  the  emperor  visited  the  home  of 
Confucius  and  appointed  six  princes  who  had  been 
able  to  repeat  the  Classics  in  his  presence,  to  rule  over 
certain  provinces. 

A.  D.  132-143 — Competitive  examinations  in  Family  Law 
in  the  preparation  of  official  papers  and  in  morals,  and 
official  duties  were  added.  This  system  was  continued 
down  to  its  abolition  in  1905.  We  have  seen  the  old 
examination  stalls  in  Peking,  Nanking,  Foochow, 
Chengtu,  and  other  cities  as  they  were  being  torn  down 
to  give  place  to  modern  schools  for  Western  learning. 

A.  D,  159 — Liang  Ki,  a high  official,  was  executed  and  his 
property,  amounting  to  “300,000,000,”  was  confiscated. 
This  was  another  example  of  the  political  corruption 
in  existence  at  that  time. 

A.  D.  165 — The  emperor  had  a temple  built  to  Lao  Tzu 
at  Lunghwa,  in  Kiangsi,  and  appointed  the  chief  Taoist 
to  be  “Heaven’s  Teacher.”  The  office  is  still  continued. 
This  was  the  official  establishment  of  Taoism  along 
with  Confucianism  as  one  of  the  religions  of  China. 
The  emperor  completed  the  recognition  of  Taoism  as 
a state  religion  by  sacrificing  in  person  to  Lao  Tzu 
in  166.  Later,  Buddhism  was  also  recognized  as  a 
state  religion,  but  this  recognition  of  Buddhism  has 
frequently  been  withdrawn  and  the  Buddhists  have 
suffered  severe  and  long  continued  persecutions  in 
China. 

A.  D.  175 — The  Five  Classics  were  cut  in  stone.  Over 
1,000  chariots  arrived  daily  with  scholars  to  inspect 


APl^ENDJX  XIV  577 

them.  Possibly  these  are  the  Stone  Drum  Classics  still 
kept  in  Peking. 

A.  D.  177 — Ling  Ti  made  appointments  to  all  civil  offices 
dependent  on  passing  the  government  examinations. 

A.  D.  178 — Offices  bought  and  sold  at  a fixed  price,  but 
only  those  holding  degrees  could  purchase  them. 

A.  D.  201 — Death  of  Chao  Ki,  author  of  the  best  commen- 
tary on  Mencius. 

A.  D.  219 — Kuan  Yii,  the  famous  general,  was  beheaded. 
Later  he  became  the  god  of  war,  and  probably  is  the 
most  famous  god  in  the  Chinese  calendar. 

After  Han  Dynasty — A.  D.  221-264 

A.  D.  226 — Women  admitted  to  official  life,  but  the 
principle  did  not  become  established. 

A.  D.  236-238 — Silver  coins  of  the  value  of  500  and  1,000 
cash  were  minted. 

A.  D.  248 — A young  widow  being  urged  by  her  father  to 
marry,  refused  and  cut  ofif  her  ears  to  save  herself 
from  a second  marriage.  Being  urged  again,  she  cut 
off  her  nose.  Later,  she  was  greatly  honored.  Public 
arches  in  China  can  be  erected  only  on  a permit  from 
the  emperor,  but  many  arches  all  over  the  nation  have 
been  erected  to  widows  who  declined  a second  mar- 
riage. 

A.  D.  256 — Wang  Siang  showed  filial  piety  by  melting  ice 
with  his  body  that  he  might  catch  carp  for  his  mother. 
Later,  as  an  official,  he  greatly  transformed  the  people. 
Filial  piety  is  a virtue  greatly  esteemed  in  China. 

A.  D.  262 — The  emperor  Chi  Kang  and  the  Club  of  Seven 
became  enamored  of  chess,  Taoism,  and  wine.  The 
emperor  drank  and  played  chess  while  his  mother  was 
dying  until  he  consumed  two  gallons  of  liquor.  He 
was  murdered  for  his  sins. 


578  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


Tsin  Dynasty — A.  D.  264-322 

A.  D.  268 — Ssu-ma  Yen,  the  emperor,  wore  plain  dress 
three  years,  mourning  his  mother’s  death.  He  is  one 
of  the  twenty-four  examples  of  filial  piety. 

A.  D.  285 — Caesarian  operation  is  performed. 

A.  D.  301 — A first  recorded  observation  of  sun  spots. 

Eastern  Tsin  Dynasty — A.  D.  322-419 

A.  D.  335 — Shih  Hu,  who  had  murdered  his  king  and 
usurped  the  throne,  favored  Buddhism  and  permitted 
the  Chinese  to  become  Buddhist  monks. 

A.  D.  347 — The  salt  wells  of  Tzeliutsing  in  Szechwan  were 
discovered  at  a depth  of  some  800  feet  and  also  natural 
gas  was  discovered  and  used  for  evaporation  of  salt 
water. 

A.  D.  350 — Introduction  and  cultivation  of  the  tea  plant, 
though  tea  is  said  to  have  been  used  in  the  time  of  Con- 
fucius, B.  C.  551-478. 

A.  D.  389 — The  emperor  and  his  ministers  gave  themselves 
up  to  debauchery,  their  associates  being  monks  and 
nuns.  Li  Liao,  of  Shantung,  petitioned  to  have  the 
temple  of  Confucius  repaired,  but  the  emperor  did  not 
give  him  an  answer.  The  emperor,  while  drunk,  was 
suffocated  by  his  favorite  concubine  because  he  had 
told  her  that  she  was  now  thirty  years  old  and  that 
he  intended  to  displace  her  with  another  woman. 

A.  D.  399 — Fa  Hien,  the  famous  Buddhist,  started  on  his 
journey  to  India,  returning  in  414. 

A.  D.  405 — Kumarajiva  translated  over  three  hundred 
Buddhist  books.  Several  thousand  priests  were  con- 
stantly now  in  meditation  in  the  temples.  From  the 
higher  dignitaries  down  to  the  people  all  adopted 
Buddhism. 


APPENDIX  XIV 


579 


Sung  Dynasty — A.  D,  420-478 

Internal  dissensions  developed  and  there  was  a division 
of  the  empire  between  the  north  and  the  south.  Each  of 
seven  states  assumed  sovereign  power. 

A.  D.  438 — Four  kinds  of  learning  were  now  recognized: 
'I'aoism,  history,  literature,  and  Confucianism. 

A.  I).  446 — Buddhist  i)riests  of  Changan  entertained  im- 
perial officers.  These  officers  noticed  weapons  hanging 
in  the  monastery  and  reported  the  fact  to  the  king,  who 
disliked  the  Buddhists.  He  ordered  the  monastery 
searched.  On  discovering  wine  and  women  in  the 
monastery,  he  ordered  all  the  priests  of  the  kingdom 
killed  and  their  books  burned.  The  heir  apparent 
warned  the  Buddhists  and  many  escaped,  but  the 
temples  and  pagodas  were  destroyed. 

A.  D.  460 — The  emperor  plowed  the  consecrated  field,  and 
the  empress  inspected  the  silk  worms  in  honor  of  in- 
dustry. 

A.  D.  471 — The  emperor  had  a splendid  Buddhist  temple 
built,  for  which  he  claimed  merit.  A high  officer  said 
to  him : “It  was  built  by  compelling  people  to  sell  their 
children  and  pawn  their  wives  to  procure  the  money 
for  you.  What  merit  is  there  in  that?”  The  emperor 
was  moved  by  the  criticism  and  had  the  temple  torn 
down. 

A.  D.  473 — The  head  of  the  descendants  of  Confucius  of 
the  twenty-eighth  generation  was  honored  by  a princely 
title. 

Tsi  Dynasty — A.  D.  479-502 

A.  D.  479 — The  Emperor  Kao  despised  precious  things, 
and  said  that  if  he  could  reign  for  ten  years,  gold  and 
mud  would  have  the  same  value.  He  died  after  only 
four  years’  reign. 


580  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


A.  D.  483 — The  state  or  kingdom  of  Wei  forbade  marriage 
between  people  of  the  same  family  name.  This  law, 
which  has  spread  throughout  the  empire,  and  is  to  a 
considerable  extent  observed  to  this  day,  has  prevented 
intermarriages  within  the  clan  and  has  contributed 
much  to  preserve  the  Chinese  race. 

A.  D.  484 — Fan  Chen-sheng  became  a teacher  of  material- 
ism. The  spirit  is  a quality  of  the  body  as  sharpness 
is  a quality  of  the  knife.  The  spirit  disappears  with 
the  body  as  sharpness  disappears  with  the  knife.  Ma- 
terialism has  a strong  hold  on  Chinese  philosophy. 

A.  D.  487 — Kao  Yiin,  governor  of  Hien-yang,  died  in  his 
ninety-eighth  year.  He  had  served  under  five  kings 
of  Wei  without  reproach;  was  charitable,  quiet,  and 
fond  of  books;  instructed  men  in  what  is  good;  was 
diligent  and  impartial;  not  favoring  his  own  relations 
and  not  forgetting  old  obligations.  He  is  mentioned 
as  the  model  Chinese  official. 

A.  D.  492 — The  kingdom  of  Wei  restores  sacrifice  to  Yao, 
Shun,  Yii,  the  Duke  of  Chow  and  Confucius. 

A.  D.  495 — The  king  of  Wei  sacrificed  to  Confucius,  pro- 
moted the  head  of  his  family,  had  his  grave  repaired 
and  a stone  tablet  erected.  The  kingdom  of  Wei  pro- 
hibited foreign  goods  being  introduced  from  the  north ; 
regulated  measures  and  weights,  and  collected  rare 
books. 

A.  D.  495 — A high  school  for  children  of  nobles  and  four 
lower  schools  at  Lo-yang,  the  new  capital,  were  opened. 

In  the  kingdom  of  Wei,  officials  were  allowed  four 
years’  leave  of  absence  for  mourning  for  parents.  This 
custom  often  prevails  to  this  day.  In  Tsi,  another 
state,  the  removal  of  all  gold  and  silver  ornaments 
from  horses  and  carriages  was  decreed.  While  the 
Chinese,  like  most  people  under  Oriental  despotism. 


APPENDIX  XIV 


581 


usually  have  been  forced  to  conceal  their  wealth,  never- 
theless, like  most  human  beings,  they  are  fond  of  dis- 
play when  it  is  safe  for  them  to  make  a display;  and 
nine  tenths  of  the  finest  teams  and  carriages  seen  in 
Shanghai  to-day  are  owned  by  the  Chinese. 

A.  D.  496 — The  law  of  responsibility  of  the  whole  family 
if  one  meml^er  is  found  g^uilty  of  a crime  was  abolished 
in  Wei.  Despite  this  effort  to  establish  individual 
instead  of  family  responsibility  for  crime,  nevertheless 
the  family  in  a large  measure  has  been  held  responsible 
for  any  crime  committed  by  any  member  of  the  family 
down  to  the  establishment  of  the  Republic. 

Liang  Dynasty — A.  D.  502-556 

The  Emperor  Wu  had  two  boxes  put  in  a public  place. 
When  officials  wished  to  say  something  to  him,  but  dared 
not  do  so  openly,  they  put  their  accusation  against  him  in 
the  wooden  box.  When  the  people  had  complaints  against 
the  officials  they  put  their  accusations  in  the  stone  box. 

A.  D.  503 — Ki  Fan’s  father  being  falsely  accused  and  con- 
demned to  death,  the  fifteen-year-old  son  offered  to 
die  in  his  stead.  The  emperor,  on  examining  the  boy 
and  finding  that  he  was  moved  by  filial  devotion, 
pardoned  the  father. 

A.  D.  505 — Professors  of  the  Five  Classics  were  appointed 
and  schools  established  in  the  provinces  and  prefec- 
tural  cities.  The  first  temple  to  Confucius  in  Liang  was 
built.  In  WTi  Buddhism  was  much  favored.  Over 
3,000  monks  arrived  from  Turkestan.  Over  13,000 
temples  for  Buddhism  were  erected  in  the  state  of 
Wei  between  509  and  512  A.  D. 

A.  D.  517 — The  official  manufacturers  of  Liang  were  for- 
bidden to  weave  figures  of  genii,  birds,  and  beasts  in 
cloth,  because  these  figures  were  often  cut  in  cutting 


582  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

the  cloth.  Animal  sacrifices  at  the  ancestral  tablets 
were  also  prohibited  and  vegetable  ones  substituted — 
a further  proof  of  the  triumph  of  Buddhism. 

A.  D.  518 — A monk  was  sent  to  Turkestan  for  Buddhist 
books  and  brought  back  170. 

A.  D.  518 — In  favor  of  Confucianism,  the  kingdom  of  Wei 
repaired  the  Classics  which  had  been  cut  in  stone. 

A.  D.  520 — ^Arrival  of  Bodhidharma,  the  famous  Buddhist, 
at  Canton. 

A.  D.  523 — Iron  money  coined  in  Liang. 

A.  D.  539 — Paper  and  pencils  were  placed  at  the  palace 
gates  of  Wei  inviting  suggestions  for  the  improvement 
of  the  government.  Tai,  of  West  Wei,  urged  purity 
of  mind,  extension  of  education,  development  of  all 
resources  of  the  state,  engagement  of  men  qualified 
for  office,  mingling  of  judgment  with  mercy,  equaliza- 
tion of  taxation  and  service.  The  Chinese  excel  in 
these  general  proposals  of  reform. 

A.  D.  545 — Emperor  Liang,  of  a neighboring  state,  adopted 
Buddhist  mode  of  living  on  rice  and  soup,  wearing 
only  plain  clothing,  using  only  one  hat  in  three  years. 
He  was  so  mild  to  criminals  that  murders  were  com- 
mitted in  open  daylight.  He  lectured  on  Buddhism 
and  issued  an  imperial  decree  forbidding  the  deprecia- 
tion of  paper  money,  despite  which  decree  it  depreciated 
to  sixty-five  per  cent  of  silver. 

A.  D.  550 — First  record  of  organization  of  militia.  Mili- 
tary instruction  given  to  farmers  at  intervals  of  work- 
ing on  land. 

A.  D.  554 — The  emperor  lectured  on  Lao  Tzu.  The  state 
of  Wei  sent  50,000  soldiers  against  the  emperor.  He 
continued  lecturing  until  traitors  opened  the  west  gate 
of  Liang  and  the  invading  troops  poured  in.  The 
emperor  then  ordered  fire  set  to  the  library  of  140,000 


APPENDIX  XIV 


583 

books,  saying  he  had  read  10,000  of  them  and  they 
had  not  saved  him  from  disorder,  hence  learning  was 
useless. 

A.  D.  555 — The  emperor  of  Tsi,  wishing  to  unite  Taoism 
and  Buddhism,  after  a learned  discussion  in  his  pres- 
ence, decided  for  Buddhism  and  ordered  the  Taoists 
to  shave  their  heads.  All  complied  save  five,  who  were 
executed;  but  the  union  did  not  last. 

Chin  Dynasty — A.  D.  557-589 
A.  D.  574 — The  Emperor  Wu,  of  the  state  of  Chow,  fixed 
the  order  of  religious  precedence,  namely,  Confucian- 
ism, Taoism,  Buddhism.  Later,  he  forbade  Taoism 
and  Buddhism,  had  their  scriptures,  temples,  shrines, 
and  images  destroyed  throughout  his  state,  and  dedi- 
cated a temple  to  the  “Unification  of  the  Religions 
of  the  Sages.”  Five  years  later  Taoism  and  Buddhism 
revived. 

A.  D.  581 — The  color  of  garments  was  now  legally  fixed. 
Imperial  yellow  for  the  royal  family  dates  from  this 
law. 

Sui  Dynasty — A.  D.  589-619 
This  dynasty  began  by  a union  of  North  and  South 
China.  Nanking  was  captured  and  the  new  capital  was  at 
Chang-an.  The  division  of  the  empire  between  the  north 
and  south  has  occurred  several  times  in  Chinese  history. 

A.  D.  595 — All  people  were  disarmed;  all  the  military 
weapons  being  collected  in  the  royal  arsenal. 

A.  D.  596-^A  law  passed  forbidding  artisans  and  mer- 
chants to  hold  office,  permitting  only  scholars  and 
farmers  to  be  officeholders.  Later  the  soldiers  were 
placed  below  the  artisans  and  the  order  of  precedence 
has  been : scholars,  farmers,  merchants,  artisans, 
servants  and  slaves  (including  soldiers). 


584  CHINA;  AN  INTERPRETATION 

A.  D.  603 — Wang  Tung,  of  Shansi,  wrote  a book  of  twelve 
chapters  on  peace.  The  emperor  failed  to  accept  the 
book.  Wang  Tung  then  taught  school  and  gained 
many  disciples  and  later  was  canonized.  The  Chinese 
appreciate  peace  above  war. 

A.  D.  605 — More  than  1,000,000  people  were  compelled  to 
labor  in  building  palaces.  There  was  a great  increase 
in  imperial  luxury.  Theatricals  lasting  a month  and 
running  from  nightfall  to  dawn  with  18,000  actors 
were  established.  Over  2,000,000  people  were  com- 
pelled to  labor  digging  canals  and  another  million 
people  in  building  walls  in  Shansi  to  keep  out  the 
northern  hordes.  Imperial  luxury  and  vice  now  caused 
the  downfall  of  the  dynasty  (in  A.  D.  619). 

A.  D.  606 — The  doctor’s  degree  was  added  to  the  two 
literary  degrees  already  existing. 

A.  D.  609 — Census  showed  8,700,000  householders: 
17,000,000  people.  People  were  again  forbidden  to 
carry  arms. 

T’ang  Dynasty — A.  D.  620-907 

Kao  Tsu,  founder  of  the  dynasty,  said,  “As  Wu,  of 
Liang,  perished  of  Buddhism,  and  Yuan  Chou,  of  Taoism, 
I will  take  warning  and  devote  myself  to  Confucianism. 
Confucianism  is  as  necessary  to  the  Chinese  as  wings  to  the 
bird  or  water  to  the  fish.” 

The  best  scholars  lectured  and  superintended  the  people 
and  Kung  Ying-tah  advised  the  emperor  to  listen  to  un- 
pleasant admonitions.  The  emperor  promised  to  think 
over  each  matter  three  times  before  giving  an  answer.  Also 
Lady  Chang  Sun,  the  empress,  loved  learning,  propriety, 
and  economy,  but  never  made  any  reply  to  political  ques- 
tions. T’ai  Tsung,  also  named  Shih-min,  the  second  son 
of  Tao  Tsung,  when  he  was  eighteen  years  old,  raised  an 


APPENDIX  XIV 


5^5 

army  and  put  down  opposition  to  his  father.  He  was 
the  real  founder  of  the  T’ang  dynasty.  Twelve  years  later 
the  father  resigned  the  throne  in  T’ai  Tsung’s  favor,  and 
the  latter  ruled  twenty-three  years. 

A.  D.  620 — The  cash  pieces  which  had  been  made  of  leather 
and  pasteboard,  were  now  replaced  with  coin  cash,  and 
the  characters,  T’ung  Pao,  that  is,  current  money, 
which  they  still  retain,  were  stamped  upon  them. 

An  official  accepted  presents  of  silk.  The  emperor 
brought  him  into  court  and  presented  him  with  ten 
large  parcels  that  he  might  no  more  be  tempted  to 
accept  bribes.  The  official  was  greatly  humiliated. 

The  empress,  wife  of  T’ai  Tsung,  led  the  ladies  of 
the  palace  and  outside  the  palace  in  superintending  the 
manufacture  of  silk. 

T’ai  Tsung  regarded  the  tears  of  the  concubines  and 
sent  3,000  of  them  back  to  their  homes.  He  relieved 
the  famine  stricken  and  redeemed  the  children  whom 
their  parents  had  sold  because  of  the  famine.  On  being 
told  that  he  was  supreme  and  had  nothing  to  fear,  he 
answered : 

Above,  I fear  God’s  inspection. 

Below,  the  observation  of  all  the  officials. 

Wei  Cheng  replied,  “This  is  the  essence  of  perfect 
government,  if  one  heeds  it  to  the  end.”  Later  on, 
Wei  Cheng  warned  the  emperor  of  some  fault  and  the 
emperor  ordered  him  executed.  On  learning  of  the 
incident,  the  empress  donned  court  dress  and  called  at 
once  upon  the  emperor;  and  on  being  asked  why  she 
came  in  such  state,  she  replied:  “To  congratulate  you 
upon  having  such  a servant  as  Wei  Cheng.  You  have 
demanded  that  all  men  speak  the  truth  to  you;  and 
Wei  Cheng  always  obeys.”  The  emperor  was  pleased, 


586  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


and  spared  Wei  Cheng’s  life.  Many  years  later,  when 
Wei  Cheng  died,  the  emperor  had  him  buried  with 
great  honor,  saying : “Men  use  brass  mirrors  to  arrange 
their  dress  correctly;  some  ancient  men  are  mirrors  to 
mark  our  progress  or  recession.  In  Wei  Cheng’s  death 
I have  lost  my  mirror.” 

The  emperor  pitied  the  families  of  a number  of 
prisoners  condemned  to  death  and  permitted  them  to 
go  home  on  parole  to  help  through  the  harvest  time. 
After  harvest  they  all  returned  to  suffer  the  death 
penalty,  and  the  emperor  pardoned  them  all — 390 
persons. 

A.  D.  627 — A stringent  decree  limiting  political  office  to 
those  holding  literary  degrees  and  limiting  the  number 
of  degrees  each  year  to  one  per  cent  of  the  candidates. 

A.  D.  632 — The  ministers  requested  an  imperial  thank 
offering  to  T’ai  Shan,  the  sacred  mountain  of  the 
Taoists.  The  emperor  refused  to  make  the  offering 
on  the  ground  that  Taoism  was  superstition.  Later 
the  empress  fell  ill.  She  had  been  economical,  chari- 
table, and  fond  of  books,  and  had  taught  these  virtues 
to  the  children.  During  her  illness  the  crown  prince 
petitioned  her  to  pardon  criminals — a Buddhist 
meritorious  work.  She  replied : “Buddhism  and 
Taoism  are  heresies  gnawing  the  vitals  of  the  state. 
Pardon  is  a function  of  the  state  and  should  not  be 
trifled  with.  The  emperor  does  not  practice  these 
superstitions.  How  should  I,  a woman,  cause  him 
to  do  such  things?  Life  and  death  are  predestined 
and  are  not  affected  by  our  human  wisdom.”  On 
death  approaching,  she  asked  the  emperor  to  make  the 
funeral  so  simple  as  not  to  burden  the  people.  (This 
contrasts  very  favorably  with  the  funeral  of  the  late 
empress  dowager,  which  cost  $5,000,000,  gold).  She 


APPENDIX  XIV 


587 

urged  the  emperor  to  guard  himself  against  flatterers, 
not  to  exact  from  the  people  compulsory  service,  and 
to  give  up  his  hunting  trips.  She  left  a compilation 
of  thirty  books,  or,  perhaps  better,  thirty  chapters,  on 
woman’s  accomplishments  and  failures  from  ancient 
times.  With  such  a mother  and  such  a wife  we  need 
not  wonder  at  T’ai  Tsung’s  greatness. 

A.  D.  634 — The  emperor  T’ai  Tsung  ajjpointed  thirteen 
men  to  visit  every  part  of  the  empire  to  represent  him 
in  person.  They  were  to  ascertain  the  grievances  of 
the  people  and  to  devise  means  of  relief,  to  prepare 
embankments  for  the  river,  etc. 

A.  D.  636 — The  emperor  permitted  Nestorian  missionaries 
to  settle  in  the  capital.  The  only  proof  of  their  in- 
fluence in  China  is  the  Nestorian  tablet  now  found  at 
Sianfu,  Shensi. 

A Buddhist  priest  claimed  in  the  presence  of  the 
emperor  that  without  touching  people  he  had  caused 
them  to  die  instantly.  Fu  Yih  had  collected  all  the 
objections  against  Buddhism  in  ten  books,  or  chapters. 
The  emperor  commanded  him  to  try  his  art  on  Fu  Yih. 
Fu  Yih  felt  nothing,  but  tbe  priest  was  so  humiliated 
that  he  fell  down  and  expired.  Another  Buddhist  was 
claiming  to  the  people  that  he  could  crack  anything 
with  his  teeth  and  was  securing  much  patronage.  Fu 
Yih  sent  his  son  to  this  priest  with  an  antelope’s  horn 
on  which  the  priest  tried  his  teeth  in  vain. 

On  the  crown  prince  planning  a rebellion,  the  em- 
peror reduced  him  to  the  rank  of  the  common  people, 
and  selected  his  ninth  son  as  heir  apparent.  He  spent 
much  time  in  teaching  this  son.  On  the  son  sitting 
down  to  eat  rice,  the  emperor  remarked,  “Know  the 
toil  of  sowing  and  reaping  and  you  will  always  have 
rice.”  On  the  son  mounting  a horse,  the  emperor 


588  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

remarked,  “Know  his  power  and  do  not  exhaust  his 
strength,  and  you  may  always  ride.”  On  the  son 
stepping  into  a boat  to  row  one  day,  the  emperor  said, 
“The  ruler  is  the  boat,  the  people  are  the  waters 
which  bear  it  up,  but  which  sometimes  upset  the  boat.” 
On  seeing  the  prince  resting  one  day  under  a tree  which 
was  being  straightened  by  cords  fastened  to  stakes, 
T’ai  Tsung  said,  “As  a tree  yielding  to  the  line  becomes 
straight,  so  a ruler  yielding  to  good  advice  becomes 
a saint.”  The  emperor  wrote  a book  on  imperial 
duties  for  the  crown  prince’s  guidance. 

A.  D.  643 — The  Greek  Emperor  Theodosius  sent  a mission 
to  China.  On  an  unfortunate  war  breaking  out  be- 
tween China  and  Korea,  the  emperor  said,  “If  Wei 
Cheng  had  lived,  he  would  never  have  permitted  this.” 

A.  D.  650 — T’ai  Tsung  died,  and  his  ninth  son,  Kao  Tsung, 
came  to  the  throne. 

A.  D.  652 — The  census  showed  a population  of  3,800,000 
households,  as  compared  with  8,700,000  in  A.  D.  609. 
Probably  it  embraced  only  a portion  of  the  empire. 

A.  D.  654 — Kao  Tsung  raised  one  of  his  father’s  concu- 
bines to  the  position  of  prime  favorite.  She  was  now 
nineteen  years  old  and  had  become  a nun  since  T’ai 
Tsung’s  death.  The  empress  encouraged  the  emperor’s 
love  for  her  in  order  to  supplant  another  favorite 
whom  the  empress  disliked.  This  concubine,  under 
the  title  of  Lady  Wu,  gave  birth  to  a girl  baby.  The 
empress  on  calling  and  seeing  the  child  decided  to 
have  it  brought  up,  although  it  was  only  a girl.  As 
soon  as  the  empress  had  left  the  chamber  Lady  Wu 
suffocated  the  baby,  and  on  the  emperor  calling  told 
him  the  empress  had  put  the  child  to  death.  Where- 
upon the  empress  was  degraded  and  Lady  Wu  elevated 
to  her  place.  Lady  Wu,  as  empress,  had  the  dowager 


APPENDIX  XIV  589 

empress  and  also  the  prime  favorite  of  the  emperor 
thrown  into  prison.  The  emperor  feeling  his  old 
attachment  for  them  both  reviving,  passed  in  front 
of  the  dungeon  gate  and  promised  soon  to  place  them 
in  a prison  where  they  could  see  the  sun  and  moon. 
On  hearing  this  promise,  the  Empress  Wu  had  their 
hands  and  feet  cut  off  and  preserved  in  a wine  jar 
for  the  emperor.  They  both  died  a few  days  later 
and  were  then  beheaded  at  the  order  of  the  empress, 
that  their  spirits  might  suffer  mutilation  in  the  next 
world.  The  empress  now  provided  numerous  favorites 
for  the  emperor,  who  gave  himself  up  more  and  more 
to  pleasure,  and  began  to  attend  business  on  alternate 
days.  On  suffering  from  inflammation  of  the  eyes, 
the  emperor  commanded  the  empress  to  attend  to 
affairs  of  state,  which  she  did  with  far  more  ability 
than  he. 

A.  D.  664 — Ten  years  after  the  emperor  had  elevated  the 
Empress  VVu  as  prime  favorite,  he  began  to  realize 
her  despotism,  and  secretly  conspired  with  the  prime 
minister  for  her  removal.  But  the  empress,  having 
the  reins  in  her  own  hands,  and  having  spies  on  all 
the  emperor’s  plans,  on  an  entirely  different  accusation 
had  the  prime  minister  executed  and  his  family  ban- 
ished. She  then  took  the  prime  minister’s  place  and 
transacted  all  the  business  of  the  emperor,  sitting  be- 
hind a screen  and  conversing  with  the  other  ministers, 
just  as  the  late  empress  dowager  did  during  the  earlier 
years  of  her  regency  in  all  conferences  with  her  min- 
isters. When  her  own  son,  the  Crown  Prince  Hung, 
reached  twenty-five  years  of  age  and  there  was  a 
general  feeling  that  he  should  assume  the  reins  which 
his  father  had  laid  down,  he  died  suddenly,  supposedly 
of  poison,  and  another  crown  prince  was  selected. 


590  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

A.  D.  680 — The  Empress  Wu  had  the  Crown  Prince  Hsien 
degraded  to  the  level  of  the  common  people  and  Chih 
elevated  in  his  stead. 

A.  D.  683 — Kao  Tsung,  the  nominal  emperor  over  whom 
the  Empress  Wu  really  had  reigned  since  654,  died. 

A.  D.  684 — The  Empress  Wu,  after  ruling  thirty  years, 
surrendered  the  reins  to  the  Crown  Prince  Chih.  Two 
months  later  the  empress  dowager  resumed  the  throne 
and  put  the  crown  prince  in  prison,  and  continued  to 
reign  until  A.  D.  705,  that  is,  for  fifty-one  years. 
She  changed  the  dynastic  title,  the  colors  to  be  worn, 
and  the  official  names.  She  altered  the  New  Year, 
taking  the  eleventh  month  as  the  first  month.  She 
suppressed  three  rebellions  against  her,  executed  the 
prominent  members  of  the  houses  leading  in  the  re- 
bellion, and  had  several  prime  ministers  and  other  high 
dignitaries  executed. 

A.  D.  690 — The  Empress  Wu  ordered  all  graduates  holding 
the  bachelor’s  degree  to  come  to  the  capital  for  their 
further  examinations. 

A.  D.  702 — The  Empress  Wu  recognized  men  who  had 
completed  certain  courses  in  military  art  as  graduates, 
and  conferred  degrees  upon  them.  This  added  to 
her  power,  but  was  discontinued  soon  after  her  death. 

A.  D.  705 — The  empress  surrendered  the  reins  of  govern- 
ment to  Chung  Tsung,  who  had  been  displaced  in  684. 
A little  later  she  died  at  the  age  of  eighty-one. 

A.  D.  706 — An  imperial  edict  caused  the  salaries  of  teachers 
to  be  paid  by  the  scholars,  rather  than  by  the  state. 
This  was  a radical  change  in  the  educational  system 
of  China. 

A.  D.  705-762 — Li  Po,  China’s  greatest  poet,  lived. 

A.  D.  729 — The  number  of  doctor’s  degrees  was  fixed  at 
one  hundred  per  year  and  remained  at  that  limit.  This 


APPENDIX  XIV 


591 


led  to  this  degree  being  given,  not  to  all  who  passed 
the  scholastic  examinations,  but  to  the  one  hundred 
who  passed  the  examinations  and  at  the  same  time 
were  able  to  pay  a considerable  sum  for  the  degree. 

The  minister,  Chang  Kai-cheng,  said  that  so  long 
as  he  continued  to  minister,  he  had  no  fear  of  want, 
and  his  observation  of  sons  whose  fathers  had  saved 
wealth  at  court  for  them  to  spend  led  him  to  think 
this  not  the  best  course  for  his  own  sons.  He  died 
poor,  but  honest,  and  greatly  loved. 

A.  D.  733 — The  Emperor  Huan  Tsung  Ming  was  so 
checked  in  feasting  by  his  premier  that  he  began  to 
look  thin.  His  friends  advised  him  to  change  Han  Hui, 
the  premier,  d'he  emperor  replied,  “While  I grow  lean, 
the  empire  is  growing  fat.  I employ  Hui  for  the 
empire  and  not  for  my  pleasure.” 

A.  D.  733 — The  census  showed  7,000,000  families:  45,400,- 
000  persons:  5.82  persons  in  each  family. 

A.  D.  738 — The  emperor  caused  schools  to  be  opened  in 
all  cities  and  towns  in  the  empire. 

A.  D.  740 — The  empire  was  divided  into  1,573  <Iistricts. 

The  census  showed  8,412,800  families:  48,143,600 
persons:  5.72  persons  in  each  family. 

A.  D.  751 — The  priest  Wu  Kung  went  to  India  as  an 
attache  to  the  embassy.  He  remained  there  forty  years 
and  brought  back  to  China  many  Sanscrit  books.  He 
received  in  India  the  name  “Dharmadatu.” 

A.  D.  755 — The  census  showed  9,600,000  households: 
52,800,000  persons:  5.5  persons  in  each  family. 

A.  D.  779 — The  national  revenue  reached  12,000,000 
strings  of  cash,  or  $12,000,000,  of  which  salt  yielded 
one  half,  the  other  half  consisting  of  the  land  tax 
and  the  tax  levied  in  kind,  like  the  rice  tribute  and 
statute  labor  which  might  be  commuted. 


592  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

A.  D.  793 — The  first  duty  on  tea  amounting  to  one  tenth 
of  its  value  was  now  levied.  It  yielded  a tax  of  about 
$400,000. 

A.  D.  845 — A struggle  began  between  Taoists  and  Bud- 
dhists, the  Taoists  claiming  to  have  discovered  the 
elixir  of  life.  Several  emperors  lost  their  lives  later 
through  the  use  of  it. 

A.  D.  848 — The  emperor  ordered  T’ai  Tsung’s  Golden 
Mirror  read  to  him.  The  volume  opened:  “Rebellion 
has  always  been  the  result  of  inadequate  persons  being 
in  office.  Good  government  wdll  always  result  if  loyal 
and  excellent  persons  are  in  the  employ  of  the  em- 
peror.” The  emperor  declared  this  was  enough.  He 
had  the  sentence  written  on  a screen  and  read  it  on 
all  occasions. 

The  Five  Dynasties — A.  D.  907-960 

A.  D.  907-923 — The  After  Liang  dynasty.  Much  internal 
war. 

A.  D.  923-926 — The  After  T’ang  dynasty.  Internal  wars 
continue. 

A.  D.  929 — A second  fruitful  year.  The  emperor  asked 
one  of  the  ministers  whether  the  farmers  were  not  now 
pleased.  The  ministers  replied,  “The  farmers  die  from 
famine  in  bad  years,  and  suffer  from  the  low  price  of 
grain  in  good  years.” 

A.  D.  932 — The  Nine  Classics  were  for  the  first  time  cut 
in  wood,  printed,  and  sold.  The  work  was  completed 
in  A.  D.  953. 

A.  D.  936-946 — The  After  Tsin  dynasty. 

A.  D.  936 — Kao  Tsu,  who  was  originally  a western  bar- 
barian, married  the  daughter  of  the  Emperor  Ming, 
and  in  936  reached  the  throne  himself.  He  reigned 
nine  years. 


APPENDIX  XIV 


593 


A.  D.  947-951 — The  After  Han  dynasty.  Internal  wars. 

A.  D.  951-960 — The  After  Chow  dynasty. 

A.  D.  951 — Feng  Tao,  who  had  invented  printing  by 
wooden  blocks  in  932,  entered  the  royal  service. 

A.  D.  953 — The  Nine  Classics  completed  and  presented  to 
the  emperor.  An  officer,  Mu  Chao-i,  of  the  state  after 
Shill,  spent  a million  taels  to  have  a school  built  and 
the  Classics  printed  in  his  country. 

Sung  Dynasty — A.  D.  960-1127 

This  is  often  called  the  Augustan  Age  of  Chinese  litera- 
ture, because  the  invention  of  printing  gave  a great  impetus 
to  literature.  The  Emperor  T’ai  Tsu  Shen-te  came  to  the 
throne  and  suppressed  two  rebellions.  He  then  had  the 
temple  of  Confucius  repaired,  the  portrait  of  Confucius, 
and  the  portraits  of  his  leading  scholars  printed.  The 
emperor  then  wrote  a eulogy  upon  Confucius  and  ordered 
the  high  officials  to  write  eulogies  of  the  leading  scholars. 
He  established  courses  of  instruction  for  both  civil  and 
military  officers. 

A.  D.  960 — In  Kiukiang,  the  members  of  one  family  having 
lived  together  for  fourteen  generations,  and  now  hav- 
ing 1,200  members,  and  finding  their  provisions  in- 
sufficient, the  government  granted  them  assistance  on 
account  of  their  family  loyalty.  In  another  case,  the 
emperor  having  asked  the  head  of  a family  whose 
members  had  lived  together  for  nine  generations  the 
secret  of  their  ability  to  continue  so  long  without  a 
break,  the  patriarch  wrote  the  word  FORBEARANCE 
one  hundred  times. 

A.  D.  963 — A socialistic  rebellion  as  a remedy  against  the 
inequality  existing  between  the  rich  and  the  poor  was 
started  in  Szechwan;  and  the  capital,  Chengtu,  was 
soon  captured.  The  rebellion  was  crushed. 


594  CHINA;  AN  INTERPRETATION 

A.  D.  964 — The  emperor  issued  a new  criminal  code. 

A.  D.  970 — The  emperor  asked  a famous  scholar,  Wang 
Chow-su,  how  to  govern  the  state  and  keep  the  body 
politic  in  health.  He  answered,  “Love  the  people  and 
diminish  your  lusts.” 

A.  D.  978 — A college  was  built  and  a library  erected  con- 
taining 80,000  volumes. 

A.  D.  1013 — The  tax  on  agricultural  implements  was 
abolished. 

A.  D.  1032-85 — Cheng  Hao  and  Cheng  I,  two  brothers, 
were  famous  for  their  scholarship. 

A.  D.  1021-86 — Wang  An-shih  the  famous  socialist,  ruled 
as  premier. 

A.  D.  1069 — A law  was  passed  advancing  money  to  farmers 
at  planting  time  at  the  rate  of  two  per  cent  a month. 

A.  D.  1070 — The  laws  of  mutual  responsibility  for  crimes 
and  of  money  rent  for  lands  were  put  in  force. 

A.  D.  1073 — Chou  Tun-i  died.  He  was  the  originator  of 
the  famous  Sung  philosophies. 

A.  D.  1074 — The  law  of  self-appraisement  of  property 
was  put  in  force.  The  owner  was  allowed  to  except 
from  the  appraisement  only  the  food  for  the  day  and 
the  table  utensils.  The  appraisement  must  include  the 
pigs  and  chickens.  The  informer  who  revealed  failure 
to  make  such  an  appraisement  received  one  third. 

A.  D.  1074 — First  duty  on  Szechwan  tea  was  levied. 

A.  D.  1077 — Shao  Yung  and  Chang  Tsai,  masters  in  the 
Sung  philosophy,  died. 

A.  D.  1084 — Ssu-ma  Kwang,  bom  1019,  presented  his 
History  of  China  to  the  emperor.  He  had  worked 
upon  it  for  nineteen  years.  The  next  year  the  emperor 
made  him  premier,  and  he  ruled  for  the  welfare  of 
the  people.  He  established  public  examinations  for 
graduates  for  ten  branches  of  service;  censors  of 


APPENDIX  XIV 


595 


morals,  teachers,  superintendents  of  the  people,  coun- 
cilors, legislators,  judges,  treasurers,  financial  officers 
— possibly  bankers,  lawyers,  and  military  commanders. 

A.  D.  1091 — A great  flood  of  the  Yangtze  followed  by 
the  famine  in  which  500,000  persons  in  the  Chekiang 
Province,  and  300,000  in  the  city  of  Soochow  died.  A 
million  and  a third  pounds  of  rice  and  200,000  strings 
of  cash  were  distributed. 

A.  D.  1093 — The  Empress  Dowager  Kao  died.  She  had 
conducted  the  government  for  nine  years  so  admirably 
that  the  people  called  her  the  Yao  and  Shun  among 
women.  Yao  and  Shun  were  the  two  great  legendary 
rulers  of  China. 

A.  D.  1100 — The  prime  minister  was  dismissed  for  cruel 
punishments  of  the  people:  nailing  their  feet  to  the 
floor,  flaying  them  alive,  and  tearing  out  their  tongues. 

A.  D.  1122 — Earliest  known  use  of  Chinese  compass.^ 

Southern  Sung  Dynasty — A.  D.  1127-1280 

A.  D.  1129 — The  Kin,  or  northern  barbarians,  forbade  the 
people  to  wear  Chinese  dress,  and  ordered  them  to 
shave  their  heads  on  penalty  of  death.  Yo  Fei  was 
asked  when  China  would  have  peace.  He  answered, 
“When  the  officials  cease  to  love  money  and  military 
officers  do  not  fear  death.”  He  was  imprisoned  and 
murdered. 

A.  D.  1143 — The  Kin  adopted  a penal  code  with, one  thou- 
sand specifications.  The  Six  Classics  were  cut  in 
stone;  showing  that  the  Kin  revered  Confucius. 

A.  D.  1150 — Wan  Len-yiang  had  Peking  chosen  for  the 
future  capital,  and  he  made  plans  for  a palace  there. 

A.  D.  1153 — The  capital  was  transferred  to  Peking  by  the 
Kin. 


* Werner,  E.  T.  C.:  Descriptive  Sociology  of  the  Chinese,  Table  VI,  col.  23. 


596  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

A.  D.  1155 — Tsin  Kwei,  premier  for  nineteen  years,  died. 
He  had  been  the  real  ruler  of  China  and  had  received 
bribes  from  foreign  countries — custom  unfortunately 
followed  by  many  Chinese  in  later  days.  Chu  Hsi,  the 
famous  commentator  on  Confucius,  held  a small  post 
at  the  temple  of  the  southern  sacred  mountain.  He 
was  invited  by  the  emperor  to  go  to  Peking,  but  did 
not  accept. 

A.  D.  1180 — Chang  Ch’e,  a celebrated  philosopher  and 
follower  of  Confucius,  published  a work  on  evolution. 

A.  D.  1 1 81 — Famine  in  Chekiang  led  the  emperor  to  call 
Chu  Hsi  to  an  audience.  The  emperor  was  much 
impressed  and  made  him  superintendent  of  grain,  tea, 
and  salt  for  the  province.  He  brought  about  some 
reforms  of  abuses  and  discharged  some  corrupt  offi- 
cials, among  them  a relative  of  the  minister,  Wang 
Huai,  who  had  introduced  Chu  Hsi  to  the  emperor. 
The  minister  had  retired  his  relative  from  public  office 
only  after  Chu  Hsi  sent  in  a sixth  complaint.  Later, 
the  minister  appointed  a censor  who  asked  that  Chu 
Hsi’s  metaphysics  be  condemned  on  the  ground  that 
they  were  materialistic.  The  emperor  condemned  the 
work. 

A.  D.  1188 — Chu  Hsi  threw  a paper  into  the  box  placed 
before  the  palace  gate  for  petitions  to  the  emperor. 
The  emperor  read  it  and  was  much  impressed,  and 
appointed  Chu  Hsi  as  crown  counselor,  but  he  de- 
clined. 

A.  D.  1 196 — The  new  emperor  was  much  prejudiced  against 
Chu  Hsi  and  his  metaphysics  were  condemned. 

A.  D.  1200 — Chu  Hsi  died. 

A.  D.  1202 — The  law  condemning  Chu  Hsi’s  metaphysics 
was  rescinded.  Chu  Hsi’s  commentary  on  Confucius 
remained  the  standard  from  1200  to  1900,  and  prob- 


APPENDIX  XIV 


597 


ably  has  influenced  the  intellectual  life  of  China  more 
than  any  textbook  ever  issued  in  any  language.  As 
Chu  Hsi’s  metaphysics  is  a thoroughly  materialistic 
system,  and  as  Confucius  was  to  a large  extent  agnostic 
in  regard  to  spirits  and  to  the  other  world  generally, 
his  writings  readily  lend  themselves  to  a materialistic 
interpretation.  We  may  add  that  the  descendants  of 
Chu  Hsi  and  of  his  old  tutor  were  made  hereditary 
professors  of  Classics,  and  again  in  1523  a descendant 
of  Chu  Hsi  was  made  a professor  of  Classics. 

A.  D.  1206 — The  Mongol  Ki  Wu-wen  T’ie  Mu-chen  took 
the  title  of  emperor,  that  is,  Genghis  Khan. 

A.  D.  1215 — Chen  Teh-siu,  a celebrated  disciple  of  Chu 
Hsi,  warned  his  fellow  men  on  five  points  against  the 
barbarians : ( i ) not  to  be  forgetful  of  the  present 
disgrace;  (2)  not  to  think  lightly  of  their  neighbors; 
(3)  not  to  trust  to  seeming  peace;  (4)  not  to  listen 
to  pleasing  words;  (5)  not  to  push  away  the  most 
righteous  discourses.  That  same  year  the  Mongols 
captured  Peking. 

A.  D.  1222 — Genghis  Khan  marched  west  over  Khorassan, 
destroyed  the  Mohammedan  state,  reached  Herat,  and 
devastated  the  country. 

A.  D.  1227 — The  Mongol  emperor  read  Chu  Hsi,  and 
ennobled  the  dead  author. 

A.  D.  1237 — A professorship  of  Chu  Hsi’s  History  of 
China  was  founded  by  the  Mongol  emperor. 

Mongol  Dynasty — A.  D.  1280-1368 

A.  D.  1280 — Kublai  Khan,  fourth  son  of  Genghis  Khan, 
came  to  the  throne. 

A.  D.  1281 — Kublai  Khan,  under  the  influence  of  the 
Buddhists,  ordered  all  Taoist  books  burned  save  Lao 
Tzu’s  Tao  Teh-Ching. 


598  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

A.  D.  1297 — Earliest  record  of  the  use  of  the  marine  com- 
pass by  the  Chinese.^ 

A.  D.  1290 — A great  flood  occurred,  followed  by  famine. 
A.  D.  1295 — Timur  became  khan,  or  emperor. 

A.  D.  1299 — Emperor  appointed  a commission  to  revise 
the  laws. 

A.  D.  1301 — Emperor  Timur  removed  all  superfluous 
officials.  He  also  prohibited  the  manufacture  of  spirits. 
A.  D.  1329 — Men  of  merit  were  mentioned. 

A.  D.  1335-67 — Internal  warfare. 

Ming  Dynasty — A.  D.  1368-1644 

T’ai  Tsu,  Chu  Yiian-chang,  became  emperor  and  founder 
of  the  dynasty.  The  emperor’s  mother  was  a Ch’en.  The 
emperor  himself  entered  a monastery  when  seventeen  years 
old,  but  later  was  brought  to  the  throne.  The  emperor’s 
wife.  Lady  Ma,  was  a superior  character,  fond  of  books, 
especially  history.  She  used  to  say,  “To  kill  no  one  is  the 
basis  of  imperial  government.”  A descendant  of  the  Con- 
fucian  family  was  appointed  to  lecture  on  the  Classics  to 
the  sons  of  the  nobility. 

Every  prefecture  and  district  was  ordered  to  open  schools. 
Triennial  examinations  at  the  capital  were  founded  in  1370. 
As  the  prefecture  and  district  mandarins  attached  undue 
importance  to  mere  verbal  learning,  and  little  importance 
to  morality  the  emperor  warned  them  and  stopped  the 
examinations  for  ten  years  and  ordered  literary  accomplish- 
ments made  secondary  to  morality. 

A.  D.  1373 — The  Ming  Code  of  Laws,  consisting  of  606 
paragraphs,  was  adopted. 

A.  D.  1374 — The  temple  of  Confucius  at  Chiifu,  the 
prophet’s  birthplace,  was  repaired  and  a college  opened 


’ Encyclopadia  Britannica,  vol.  vi,  p.  806. 


APPENDIX  XIV  599 

there  for  his  descendants.  The  dress  to  be  worn  in 
mourning  was  also  prescribed  for  every  one. 

A.  D.  1375 — Schools  were  again  ordered  opened  in  all 
cities  and  towns,  and  the  Mandarins  ordered  to  provide 
them  even  in  smaller  places. 

The  Yellow  River  broke  through  its  banks  and  over- 
flowed the  land. 

A.  D.  1382 — The  Empress  Ma  died  in  the  fifty-first  year 
of  her  age.  She  had  been  diligent  in  fulfilling  her 
duties,  and  had  spent  her  leisure  in  study.  She  had  the 
biographies  of  the  best  Sung  empresses  written  out 
for  her  mirror.  She  persuaded  the  emperor  to  mitigate 
punishments  and  to  grant  students  of  the  Imperial  Col- 
leges an  allowance  for  themselves  and  families. 

A.  D.  1386 — All  poor  people  above  eighty  years  of  age 
received  an  allowance  of  grain,  meat,  and  wine;  and 
those  above  ninety  received  yearly  an  additional  piece 
of  silk  and  a quilt.  The  rich  who  reached  this  age 
received  title  and  honor. 

A.  D.  1391 — The  population  numbered  10,000,000  house- 
holds, or  56,000,000  people. 

A.  D.  1393 — Another  census  gave  16,052,860  households, 
or  60,544,811  persons.  The  variation  in  the  number 
in  this  short  time  is  due  probably  to  annexation  of 
some  territory.  At  any  rate,  the  boundaries  were 
extended  at  this  time  under  the  great  general  Lan  Yii, 
who  was  executed  in  this  year. 

A.  D.  1394 — The  emperor  caused  the  department  of  public 
works  to  construct  ditches  and  lakes,  to  regulate  the 
water  in  times  of  flood  and  store  it  for  times  of 
drought;  40,987  such  works  were  completed. 

A.  D.  1407 — A universal  encyclopedia,  comprising  22,877 
sections,  was  completed.  Kang-hi  also  completed  a 
lexicon  with  40,000  characters,  a vast  concordance  of 


6oo  CHINA;  AN  INTERPRETATION 


all  literature,  two  encyclopedias — the  latter  of  which 
fills  1,628  volumes,  8vo. 

See  the  chapter  on  Literature  for  the  number  of  books 
in  this  Encyclopaedia.  (Encyclopaedia  Britannica,  vol. 
6,  p.  230,  c.). 

A.  D.  1413 — Criminals  were  sent  to  the  mountains  to  plant 
trees,  a good  example  for  the  present  time. 

A.  D.  1421 — The  capital  was  again  brought  back  to 
Peking. 

A.  D.  1426 — A girl  had  her  liver  cut  out  to  cure  her  mother 
from  some  disease.  The  Board  of  Rites  asked  for  a 
memorial  arch  for  this  girl.  The  Emperor  Hsuan 
Tsung  refused,  saying  this  was  no  act  of  filial  piety 
but  a great  sin. 

A.  D.  1474 — A frontier  wall  1,770  li,  or  550  miles,  long 
was  erected. 

A.  D.  1490 — Public  granaries  were  ordered  built  all  over 
the  empire  to  store  provisions  in  years  of  plenty  for 
years  of  famine. 

A.  D.  1491 — A census  showed  9,913,446  households,  53,- 
281,158  persons,  or  5.84  persons  in  each  family. 

A.  D.  1492 — Rare  books  were  collected.  Thus  China  was 
collecting  volumes  which  glorified  the  past,  while 
Columbus  was  discovering  America  and  laying  the 
foundations  for  the  future. 

A.  D.  1499 — The  Criminal  Code  was  revised. 

A.  D.  1510 — The  emperor  ordered  Liu  Chin,  who  had  been 
a leading  minister,  executed,  and  found  millions  of 
gold  in  his  palace.  People  struggled  for  his  blood 
and  flesh,  and  ate  the  flesh  raw  under  the  superstition 
that  they  would  thus  acquire  the  spirit  of  Liu  Chin. 
That  superstition  continues  down  to  the  present  day: 
and  in  1911  we  reached  Kiukiang  the  day  after  the 
people  had  struggled  together  fgr  the  blood  of  some 


APPENDIX  XIV 


6oi 


robbers,  who  had  been  beheaded  and  whose  courage 
the  people  hoped  to  acquire. 

A.  D.  1528 — The  Ming  Code  was  revised  and  distributed 
all  over  the  empire. 

A.  D.  1529 — The  Great  Famine. 

A.  D.  1530 — Revision  of  the  sacrificial  code  for  the  wor- 
ship of  Confucius.  He  was  now  styled  “The  Holiest 
former  Teacher.” 

A.  D.  1552 — Francis  Xavier,  the  famous  Roman  Catholic 
missionary,  died  at  Macao,  in  the  south  of  China. 

A.  D.  1577 — The  census  showed  10,621,436  families,  60,- 
692,856  persons,  or  5.71  persons  in  each  family. 

A.  D.  1583 — Nurhachu,  the  founder  of  the  Ts’ing,  or  the 
late  Manchu  dynasty,  achieved  his  first  victories  against 
Ni-kan. 

A.  D.  1601 — Matthew  Ricci,  another  famous  Jesuit  mis- 
sionary, reached  Peking. 

A.  D.  1621 — The  Manchus  captured  Mukden  and  also 
Liaoyang,  and  took  possession  of  the  Liaotung  penin- 
sula. 

A.  D,  1623 — The  Dutch,  who  had  settled  in  Formosa 
about  1600,  attempted  to  gain  a foothold  in  China  at 
Amoy. 

A.  D.  1626 — Nurhachu  died  of  chagrin  over  failure  to 
capture  Ningyuan  after  repeated  assaults. 

A.  D.  1629 — Nicolaus  Longobardi,  of  the  Catholic  mission, 
and  others  were  employed  as  astronomers. 

Ts’ing  or  Manchu  Dynasty — A.  D.  1644-1911 

In  1637  the  Manchus  had  conquered  Korea.  Chang 

Hen-cheng  had  become  in  1634  a rebel  leader  in  the  district 

south  of  the  River  Han.  Famine  also  swept  Shansi  and 

Shensi.  The  imperial  general,  Chen,  defeated  the  rebels 

in  several  engagements  and  shut  them  up  in  the  hills  and 


6o2  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


prepared  to  starve  them  out.  They  bribed  the  retainers  of 
General  Chen  and  asked  to  surrender,  which  request  was 
granted  and  they  marched  out  with  36,000  men.  After 
marching  out  they  murdered  the  imperial  guards,  butchered 
the  inhabitants  of  numerous  districts,  and  several  thousands 
of  rebels  joined  them.  The  Manchus  marched  in  to  help 
subdue  the  rebellion.  As  the  rebellion  spread,  the  Manchu 
leader  assumed  the  title  Tai  Ts’ing  as  the  name  of  his 
dynasty.  The  rebel  Chang  Hien-cheng  feigned  submission 
to  the  imperial  troops,  but  the  Manchus  now  advanced  into 
Chihli  and  took  forty-eight  cities.  The  rebel  Li-tsing  now 
suffered  a severe  defeat,  but  the  rebel  Chang  revolted  again, 
defeated  the  general  sent  against  him  and  killed  12,000  peo- 
ple. He  and  Li  so  divided  and  reduced  the  Ming  forces  as 
almost  to  paralyze  the  imperial  government.  Chang,  after  a 
great  defeat  in  which  he  lost  sixteen  leaders,  his  wife  and 
concubine,  fled  to  Li  who  wished  to  kill  him;  but  he  sent 
Chang  with  500  horsemen  south  in  order  to  divert  the  impe- 
rialists from  himself.  The  imperialists  followed  Chang  and 
Li  escaped.  The  imperialists  now  flooded  Kaifengfu,  in 
Honan,  and  drowned  a million  people,  and  captured  the 
capital  of  Shansi,  Taiyuenfu.  Li  was  a strict  disciplinarian 
and  forbade  his  soldiers  any  indulgence  or  licentiousness. 

Li  now  proclaimed  himself  king  of  the  territory  roughly 
comprising  Shansi  and  Shensi.  Later  he  captured  Peking, 
and  the  last  Ming  emperor  wrote  a confession  of  his  sins 
and  hanged  himself  on  the  “Ten  Thousand  Year  Hill.” 
Wu  San-kuei  started  to  the  relief  of  Peking,  but  learned 
at  Shanhaikwan  that  the  city  had  fallen  into  Li’s  hands. 
Wu’s  father,  who  was  a captive  in  the  hands  of  Li,  urged 
his  son  to  surrender,  and  Wu  consented,  marching  his  troops 
as  far  as  Lanchow,  where  he  learned  that  his  father’s  concu- 
bine was  in  possession  of  one  of  Li’s  generals.  This  so 
enraged  Wu  San-kuei  that  he  returned  to  Shanhaikwan, 


APPENDIX  XIV 


603 

submitted  to  the  Manchus,  and  invited  them  to  come  to  his 
aid  in  subduing  Li.  Li  killed  Wu’s  father,  advanced  to 
Shanhaikwan,  and  was  defeated  by  the  Manchus.  He  fled 
to  Peking,  where  he  burned  the  palace  and  the  nine  gate 
towers,  and  then  fled  to  Sianfu,  the  capital  of  Shensi. 

Meantime,  rebel  Chang,  who  had  also  gone  west,  had 
captured  Chungking  and  Chengtu,  butchering  980,000 
people  at  and  around  Chengtu,  burying  many  people  alive 
in  the  gardens,  and  flaying  people  alive.  In  Chungking  he 
cut  off  the  elbows  and  arms  of  37,000  people.  In  all,  Szech- 
wan is  said  to  have  lost  6,000,000  people  before  she  was 
fully  subdued  by  the  rebel  Chang  Hien-Cheng  and  later  by 
the  Manchus.  The  flight  of  Li  and  Chang  to  the  west  en- 
abled the  Manchus  to  enter  Peking  and  establish  the  Ta 
Ts’ing  dynasty. 

A.  D.  1642 — Previous  to  the  fall  of  Peking,  the  Manchus 
advanced  to  the  south  and  entered  Chiifu,  the  birth- 
place of  Confucius. 

A.  D.  1645 — After  the  capture  of  Peking,  the  Manchus 
marched  south  and  defeated  Li’s  general  in  command 
of  600,000  soldiers.  Later,  Chang  was  defeated  at 
Chungking  and  his  Szechwan  empire  overthrown. 

King  Fu  was  reigning  as  the  last  of  the  Mings  at 
Nanking.  He  had  given  himself  up  to  self-indulgence 
and  was  very  unpopular  with  the  people,  and  was 
easily  betrayed  and  killed  by  the  Manchus.  The 
Manchus  now  overran  and  captured  all  of  southern 
China,  including  Yunnan  and  Kweichow.  They  now 
became  firmly  established  upon  the  throne  of  China, 
where  they  continued  to  reign  until  the  end  of  1911. 

A.  D.  1657 — A census  showed  18,500,000  households. 

A.  D.  1660 — Tea  was  first  sent  from  China  to  England. 

A.  D.  1662 — Kang-hi  came  to  the  throne  at  eight  years  of 
age. 


6o4  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

A.  D.  1667 — Kang-lii  took  the  reins  in  his  own  hands. 
He  is  the  Julius  Csesar  of  China,  excelling  almost  all 
of  his  predecessors  in  conquests  and  in  literature. 
Kang-hi’s  lexicon  still  stands  as  his  literary  master- 
piece, or,  rather,  as  a very  great  work  accomplished 
by  others  under  his  direction. 

A.  D.  1674 — Wu  San-kuei  started  a rebellion  in  which  the 
provinces  of  Kweichow,  Szechwan,  Fukien,  Hunan, 
and  Shensi  joined.  Kang-hi  suppressed  the  rebellion. 

A.  D.  1680 — The  East  India  Company’s  famous  treaty  was 
made  with  China. 

A.  D.  1689 — Treaty  at  Nerchinsk  with  Russia;  all  north 
of  the  Amur  was  to  belong  to  Russia,  and  all  south 
of  it  to  China. 

A.  D.  1692 — Edict  of  toleration  of  Christianity  issued  by 
Kang— hi. 

A.  D.  1701 — A census  showed  21,000,000  households. 

A.  D.  1707 — A complete  collection  was  made  of  the  poetry 
of  the  T’ang  dynasty,  embracing  48,900  poems. 

A.  D.  1715 — Erench  missionaries  entered  Annam. 

A.  D.  1716 — On  account  of  the  refusal  of  the  Roman 
Catholics  to  accept  the  terms  proposed  by  Kang-hi,  an 
edict  was  issued  forbidding  missionaries  to  remain  in 
China. 

A.  D.  1722 — Death  of  Kang-hi. 

A.  D.  1723 — Religious  edict  banishing  all  Roman  Catholic 
priests,  native  and  foreign,  to  Macao;  also  forbidding 
the  propagation  of  the  gospel. 

A.  D.  1736-95 — K’ien  Lung  was  emperor.  He  was  the  son 
of  Kang-hi,  and  came  to  the  throne  at  the  age  of 
twenty-five.  He  was  a scholar  and  did  not  desire  the 
throne,  or  wish  to  engage  in  administrative  work ; but 
he  made  a great  emperor  and  deserves  to  rank  with  his 
father  as  one  of  the  great  leaders,  not  simply  of  the 


APPENDIX  XIV  605 

Manchu  dynasty,  but  of  the  Chinese  race.  He  sup- 
pressed rebellion  throughout  the  empire  and  extended 
the  borders  of  the  empire  to  the  north  and  west  so 
that  China  reached  perhaps  her  greatest  territory  under 
him. 

A.  D.  1741 — The  population  is  said  to  have  numbered 
143,000,000. 

A.  D.  1747 — The  Dynastic  History  of  China,  in  219 
volumes,  was  issued. 

A.  D,  1796-1821 — Kia  K’ing  was  emperor. 

A.  D.  1807 — Robert  Morrison,  the  first  Protestant  mission- 
ary, arrived  in  China. 

A.  D.  1816 — Lord  Amherst’s  mission  summarily  dismissed 
from  Peking.  Pere  Amyot  expelled  by  the  emperor. 

A.  D.  1821-51 — Tao  Kwang  was  emperor. 

A.  D.  1823-26 — First  war  between  Burma,  a dependency  of 
China,  and  British  India.  Burma  receiving  no  help 
from  China,  the  British  gained  a foothold  in  that 
country. 

A.  D.  1833 — Abolition  of  the  East  Indian  Company’s  char- 
ter. 

A.  D.  1839 — Commissioner  Lin,  at  Canton,  destroyed  20,- 
283  chests  of  opium  which  British  merchants  had 
brought  to  China  contrary  to  Chinese  law.  The  Eng- 
lish government  paid  the  merchants  £120  per  chest, 
or  some  $12,000,000,  gold,  in  all,  and  began  the  first 
Opium  War  with  China,  basing  her  warfare  upon 
Chinese  restriction  of  commerce. 

A.  D.  1841 — January  6.  Treaty  of  Chuen  Pi,  by  which 
Chinese  commissioners  agreed  to  cede  to  Great  Britain 
Hongkong  and  to  pay  $6,000,000  in  return  for  the 
opium  destroyed  and  the  injury  inflicted  by  the  Chinese. 
The  Chinese  emperor  refused  to  sign  the  treaty  and 
the  war  was  renewed. 


6o6  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


A.  D.  1842 — July  29.  Treaty  of  Nanking,  by  which  China 
ceded  to  Great  Britain  Hongkong;  opened  Canton, 
Amoy,  Ningpo,  Foochow,  and  Shanghai  as  ports  of 
foreign  trade  and  residence,  and  paid  $6,000,000  for 
opium  destroyed,  $3,000,000  more  for  debts  claimed 
by  British  merchants;  and  $12,000,000  more  for  the 
expenses  of  the  war — $21,000,000  in  all.  Morally, 
this  war  does  not  reflect  credit  upon  Great  Britain.  It 
secured  to  all  foreigners  in  China  rights  of  extra-terri- 
toriality. S.  Wells  Williams  characterizes  it  as  “one 
of  the  turning  points  in  the  history  of  mankind”  (Bash- 
ford,  James  W. : Notes,  Vol.  40,  p.  26). 

A.  D.  1844 — American  and  French  treaties  with  China,  by 
which  China  granted  them  the  same  rights  of  trade 
in  the  open  ports  which  she  had  granted  to  Great 
Britain,  were  signed. 

A.  D.  1851-61 — Hien-feng  was  emperor. 

A.  D.  1852 — Second  war  between  Burma  and  Great  Britain. 
Britain  annexes  Lower  Burma. 

A.  D.  1857 — Second  Opium  War  with  Great  Britain. 

A.  D.  1858 — The  Taku  forts  taken. 

June  26.  Treaty  of  Tientsin.  China  here  granted 
the  right  of  ambassadors  to  reside  at  Peking;  the  opium 
traffic  was  legalized;  but  the  treaty  was  not  signed  by 
the  emperor,  who  protested  against  the  opium  clause. 
War  resumed. 

A.  D.  1859 — Defeat  of  English  and  French  at  Taku,  who 
were  trying  to  force  their  way  to  Tientsin  and  Peking 
to  secure  ratification  of  the  Treaty  of  Tientsin. 

A.  D.  i860 — British  and  French  capture  Taku,  Tientsin, 
and  Peking  and  burn  the  summer  palace. 

October  24.  Treaty  of  Peking  signed,  in  which 
China  legalizes  the  opium  traffic,  pays  8,000,000  taels, 
and  cedes  Kowloon  to  Great  Britain  to  cover  the  ex- 


APPENDIX  XIV 


607 

penses  of  the  war.  Great  Britain  also  insists  upon  the 
appointment  of  Sir  Robert  Hart  as  inspector-general 
of  customs.  lie  is  the  greatest  Englishman  ever  sent 
by  Great  Britain  to  China.  This  treaty  helped  open 
China  to  foreigners. 

A.  D.  1861 — Emperor  Hien-Eeng  dies. 

A.  D.  1861-73 — Regency  of  Tzu  Hsi  and  Tzii  An. 

A.  D.  1863 — Sir  Robert  Hart  appointed  inspector-general 
of  customs. 

A.  D.  1852-65 — Taiping  rebellion  raged.  Losses  in  battle, 
from  wounds  caused  by  battle,  from  sickness,  and  from 
famine  estimated  at  20,000,000. 

A.  D.  1864 — King  of  Annam  cedes  Cochin-China  to  France. 

A.  D.  1867 — Anson  Burlingame,  who  had  been  American 
minister  to  China  since  1861,  became  the  representative 
of  China  and  negotiated  the  Burlingame  Treaty  with 
the  United  States  and  did  much  to  make  China  known 
and  respected  in  the  Western  world.  He  died  at  Saint 
Petersburg  in  1870,  the  most  farsighted  Western 
statesman  in  regard  to  China  and  the  Pacific  Basin. 

A.  D.  1869 — Suez  Canal  opened,  shortening  the  route  to 
China. 

A.  D.  1870 — Anti  foreign  riots  against  the  French  Roman 
Catholics  at  Tientsin ; cathedral  was  burned  and  twenty 
foreigners  killed,  mostly  Sisters  of  Charity. 

French  aggressions  in  Tongking. 

A.  D.  1872 — Tung-chi  begins  to  reign. 

A.  D.  1873 — Abolition  of  the  coolie  trade,  after  500,000 
Chinese  coolies  had  been  captured  and  taken  to  foreign 
lands  by  foreign  nations.  First  formal  reception  of 
foreigners  by  the  emperor  in  person. 

A.  D.  1875 — Tung  Chi  dies  and  Tzu  Hsi  and  Tzu  An 
resume  the  regency. 

A.  D.  1876 — The  Woosung- Shanghai  Railway,  ten  miles 


6o8  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


long,  the  first  railway  in  China,  bought  by  China  from 
its  owners  and  torn  up. 

A.  D.  1877-78 — The  Great  Famine  in  Shansi  and  Shensi 
due  to  drought.  Missionaries  rendered  great  service  to 
the  relief  of  China  and  won  the  lasting  gratitude  of 
the  Chinese. 

A.  D.  1881 — Treaty  with  Russia  by  which  Hi  was  returned 
to  China,  and  Russia  paid  an  indemnity  of  $4,500,000. 
Tzu  An  dies  and  Tzu  Hsi  reigns  alone.  First  tele- 
graph line  from  Shanghai  to  Tientsin. 

A.  D.  1882 — French  invasion  of  Tongking. 

A.  D.  1885-86 — Third  war  between  Burma  and  Great 
Britain:  Burma  receiving  no  aid  from  China,  is  an- 
nexed by  Great  Britain. 

A.  D.  1889 — Kwang-su  assumes  the  throne. 

A.  D.  1891 — Chungking  opened  as  a port  for  foreigners, 
rioting  follows. 

A.  D.  1894-95 — Japanese-Chinese  war.  Japan,  by  reason 
of  the  use  of  Western  ships,  guns,  and  the  mastery  of 
the  Western  art  of  war,  wins  an  easy  victory. 

A.  D.  1895 — April  17.  The  Treaty  of  Shimonoseki  is 
signed  by  which  China  cedes  to  Japan  the  Liaotung 
peninsula  and  Port  Arthur,  and  promises  an  indemnity 
of  200,000,000  taels.  Russia,  Germany,  and  France 
compel  Japan  to  surrender  her  claims  upon  Port 
Arthur  and  the  Liaotung  peninsula  and  accept  instead 
a larger  money  indemnity  from  China. 

August  I.  The  Kutien  massacre.  Viceroy  Chang 
Chih-tung  received  permission  on  this  day  to  build  a 
railway  from  Shanghai  to  Nanking. 

December  6.  Decree  ordered  the  building  of  a rail- 
way from  Tientsin  to  Lu-kow  bridge,  near  Peking. 

A.  D.  1895-97 — Dr.  C.  D.  Tenney  called  to  the  presidency 
of  the  Pei  Yang  University,  Tientsin,  and  Dr.  J.  C. 


APPENDIX  XIV  609 

Ferguson  to  the  presidency  of  the  Nan  Yang  Univer- 
sity, Shanghai. 

A.  D.  1897 — March  8.  Count  Muraview  informed  the 
British  minister  at  Saint  Petersburg  that  Russia  de- 
manded Dalny  and  Port  Arthur. 

March  27.  Port  Arthur,  Dalny,  and  adjacent  terri- 
tories leased  to  Russia.  In  this  treaty  Russia  secured 
the  privileges  of  placing  her  boundaries  around  Port 
Arthur  and  Dalny  “in  accordance  with  her  require- 
ments” and  “at  whatever  distances  it  may  be  neces- 
sary.” 

November  i.  Two  German  Catholic  priests  mur- 
dered near  Tsiningchow,  Shantung.  As  indemnity, 
Germany  demanded  that  China  should  surrender  to 
her  Kiaochow  on  a ninety-nine-year  lease,  and  117 
square  miles  of  territory  surrounding  that  port.  Ger- 
many issued  a forty-eight-hour  ultimatum  to  China. 

December  20.  Three  Russian  warships  anchored 
outside  Port  Arthur,  which  had  just  been  evacuated  by 
the  Japanese. 

A.  D.  1898 — January  17.  Sir  Michael  Hicks  Beach  said  in 
the  British  Parliament,  “The  government  are  abso- 
lutely determined,  at  whatever  cost — and  I wish  to 
speak  plainly,  if  necessary,  at  the  cost  of  war — that 
the  door  in  China  shall  not  be  shut.”  This  was  the 
announcement  of  the  policy  of  the  open  door  in  China. 

April  I.  China  agreed  to  lease  Weihaiwei  to  Great 
Britain  on  the  same  terms  on  which  Port  Arthur  had 
been  leased  to  Russia,  and  until  Russia  ceased  to  occupy 
the  Liaotung  peninsula.  Great  Britain  took  possession 
May  21  of  Weihaiwei,  including  a strip  of  territory 
ten  miles  wide,  surrounding  the  bay.  France  at  this 
time  received  a lease  of  Kwangchow  for  a coaling 
station;  the  right  to  build  a railway  from  Tong- 


6io  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


king  to  Yunnanfu;  the  agreement  that  China  would 
not  lease  any  part  of  Kwantung,  Kwangsi,  or 
Yunnan  to  any  other  power.  France  thus  succeeded 
in  cutting  Great  Britain’s  Indian  possessions  off  from 
Hongkong.  About  this  same  time  Japan  secured 
an  agreement  from  China  that  no  territory  in  Fukien 
should  be  leased  to  any  other  Power  save  herself. 

One  of  the  Board  of  Censors  in  the  published  cen- 
sure, charges  the  entire  Tsung-li  Yamen  with  being  in 
the  pay  of  Russia,  and  specified  1,500,000  taels  as  the 
amount  which  Li  Hung-chang  received. 

June  5.  Lease  of  Kiaochow  to  Germany  was  signed. 
Herr  von  Bulow  said  in  the  Reichstag:  “The  best 
pledge  of  the  future  is  in  our  view,  the  permanent 
presence  of  German  ships  of  war  and  of  a German 
garrison  at  Kiaochow  Bay.  The  might  of  the  German 
empire  is  thus  constantly  and  visibly  exhibited  to  the 
local  and  provincial  Chinese  authorities,  as  well  as  the 
population,  which  it  is  to  be  hoped  will  not  again  for- 
get that  an  injury  done  to  a subject  of  the  empire  will 
not  go  unavenged.” 

June  24.  Jung  Lu  appointed  viceroy  of  Chihli. 
Soon  after  Jung  Lu’s  appointment,  Li  Hung-chang  was 
removed  from  Peking  and  made  viceroy  of  the  two 
Kiang  Provinces. 

September  i.  Seven  reform  edicts  issued  by 
Kwang-su. 

September  7.  Li  Hung-chang  dismissed  from  at- 
tendance at  the  Tsung-li  Yamen. 

September  7-21.  Nine  more  reform  decrees  issued 
by  Kwang-su. 

September  21.  Empress  dowager  takes  the  throne. 

September  22.  An  imperial  decree  issued,  signed  by 
Kwang-su,  saying,  “The  control  of  the  government  by 


APPENDIX  XIV 


6i  I 

the  emperor  has  been  made  subject  to  the  advice  of  the 
empress  dowager.” 

September  26.  A decree  issued  canceling  the  former 
decrees  of  the  emperor. 

September  28.  K’ang  Yii-wei,  a liberal  adviser 
of  the  young  emperor,  escaped  to  Hongkong,  but  his 
brother  and  five  other  reformers  were  executed.  The 
Chinese  in  Peking  sided  with  the  reactionaries,  and 
the  foreign  Legations  were  in  danger. 

October  ii.  Jung  Lu  appointed  general-in-chief  of 
the  armies  in  Chihli. 

During  this  month  all  Chinese  newspapers  were  sup- 
pressed. Foreign  troops  began  to  arrive  to  protect 
the  Legations  in  Peking.  A report  was  circulated  in 
Peking  that  Kwang-su  had  died.  The  foreign  Lega- 
tions regarded  this  as  an  announcement  of  the  ap- 
proaching death  of  the  emperor.  At  the  urgent 
suggestion  of  Sir  Claude  MacDonald  that  a foreign 
physician  examine  the  emperor,  he  was  examined  by 
Dr.  DeThieve,  of  the  French  Legation,  who  pro- 
nounced his  disease  as  Bright’s  disease,  but  said  there 
was  no  danger  of  immediate  death.  Sir  Claude  wrote 
to  the  Tsung-li  Yamen:  “Should  the  emperor  die,  the 
efifect  amongst  the  Western  nations  will  be  most  disas- 
trous to  China.” 

October  15.  The  empress  dowager  gave  a reception 
to  the  wives  of  all  foreign  ministers.  She  received 
them  most  graciously  and  distributed  rich  presents, 
saying,  “All  are  one  family.” 

November  4.  Mr.  W.  S.  Fleming,  a British  mis- 
sionary in  Kweichow,  was  murdered. 

December  7.  Foreign  ladies  again  received  in  audi- 
ence by  the  empress  dowager. 

A.  D.  1899 — March  15.  Chinese  edict  issued  conferring 


6i2 


CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 


official  rank  on  Roman  Catholic  missionaries.  Similar 
rank  was  a little  later  offered  Protestant  missionaries 
and  wisely  declined  by  them. 

Early  in  this  year  some  Germans  were  assaulted  in 
Tientsin.  Piracy  and  disorder  became  bad  in  Kwan- 
tung,  Fukien,  and  Szechwan.  Boxers  appear  in  Shan- 
tung beginning  to  drill  in  the  temples  at  Taianfu. 

August  4.  Japan  abolishes  all  rights  of  extra-terri- 
toriality upon  the  part  of  fore:igners  residing  within 
her  empire. 

November.  Empress  dowager  issued  a secret  edict 
to  the  governors  of  the  maritime  provinces  urging  them 
to  “restrict  the  aggreission  of  the  foreign  Powers.”  A 
little  later  she  issued  and  published  a decree  exhorting 
the  people  to  preserve  their  ancestral  homes  and  graves 
from  the  ruthless  hands  of  the  invader.”  These  de- 
crees were  due  in  part  to  the  slicing  off  of  Chinese 
territory  upon  the  part  of  European  nations. 

December.  The  Rev.  S.  M.  Brooks,  an  English 
missionary,  was  murdered  by  the  Boxers  in  Feicheng, 
Shantung ; it  was  the  beginning  of  the  Boxer  Uprising. 

A.  D.  1900 — January  4.  Sir  Claude  MacDonald  reported 
the  death  of  Mr.  Brooks. 

January  24.  Kwang-su  issued  a decree,  apparently 
written  by  himself,  though  the  empress  dowager  could 
imitate  his  style,  in  which  he  took  all  blame  for  the 
misfortunes  of  the  empire  to  himself  and  praised  “Her 
great  Majesty’s  anxious  toil  by  day  and  by  night.” 
“Reflecting  on  the  supreme  importance  of  the  worship 
of  ancestors  and  to  the  spirits  of  the  land,  I appoint 
my  second  cousin,  Pii  Chun,  fourteen-year-old  son  of 
Prince  Tuan,  to  be  prince  imperial,  an  adopted  son  of 
Tung-chi;  thus  the  ancestral  rites  can  be  performed 
for  Tung-chi  and  his  spirit  placated.” 


APPENDIX  XIV 


June  I.  The  Rev.  C.  Robinson  and  Rev.  H.  V.  Nor- 
man, Engish  missionaries,  were  murdered  by  Boxers. 

June  4.  Tientsin-Peking  Railroad  ceases  running 
and  Peking  enters  upon  a siege. 

June  8.  Prince  Tuan  appointed  president  of  the 
Tsung-li  Yamen. 

June  10.  Admiral  Seymour  with  2,000  troops  of 
the  allies  started  for  Peking.  June  20  Siege  of  Peking 
begins. 

June  20.  Peking  missionaries,  except  the  Roman 
Catholics,  take  refuge  in  the  Legations. 

June  30-July  I.  Massacre  of  missionaries  and 
Chinese  Christians  at  Paotingfu. 

July  9.  Yii  Hsien  killed  forty-five  missionaries  at 
Paotingfu. 

August  14.  Siege  of  Peking  raised.  Empress 
dowager  flees. 

November  27.  Edict  issued  recommending  Yuan 
Shih  Kai’s  school  regulations. 

A.  D.  1901 — Dr.  W.  A.  P.  Martin  was  called  as  educational 
and  general  adviser  to  Chang  Chih-tung.  Dr.  W.  M. 
Hayes  was  called  to  the  presidency  of  the  new  Shan- 
tung Provincial  College,  and  Dr.  Timothy  Richard  to 
the  presidency  of  the  University  of  Shansi. 

A.  D.  1901 — An  imperial  decree  ordered  a junior  college 
at  the  capital  of  each  province,  a middle  school  (high 
school)  at  each  prefectural  capital,  an  intermediate 
school  at  each  hsien  (county  seat),  and  a primary 
school  at  each  village. 

A.  D.  1902 — ^January  7.  Empress  dowager  returns  to 
Peking. 

A.  D.  1903 — An  edict  was  issued  ordering  within  ten  years 
the  abolition  of  the  old  system  of  examinations  for 
officials. 


6i4  CHINA:  AN  INTERPRETATION 

A.  D,  1904 — Russo-Japanese  War. 

A.  D.  1905 — Yuan  Shih  Kai  and  Chang  Chih-tung  secured 
a decree  summarily  abolishing  the  old  system  of  ex- 
aminations and  putting  the  new  system  into  immediate 
effect.  Ample  provision,  however,  was  made  that  all 
who  had  secured  degrees  under  the  old  system  were 
still  eligible  to  office. 

A.  D.  1905 — September  5.  Treaty  of  Portsmouth  signed 
closing  the  Russo-Japanese  War. 

A.  D.  1908 — November  14.  P’u  Yi,  born  February  8,  1906, 
son  of  Prince  Chun,  appointed  heir  to  the  throne. 

A.  D,  1908 — November  14.  Prince  Chun  appointed  regent 
— cooperating  with  Tzu  Hsi. 

A.  D.  1908 — November  14.  The  Emperor  Kwang-su  died. 

A.  D.  1908 — November  15.  The  Dowager  empress  Tzu 
Hsi  died. 

P’u  Yi  became  emperor  and  Prince  Chun  became 
regent  of  the  empire. 

A.  D.  1910 — Japan’s  annexation  of  Korea. 

A.  D,  1911 — First  Conference  of  the  Central  Educational 
Council. 

A.  D,  1912 — February  12.  Chinese  Republic  formally 
established. 

A.  D.  1912 — July  10- August  10.  Emergency  Central  Edu- 
cational Conference. 

A.  D.  1912 — September  5.  A decree  issued  establishing 
a new  order  for  the  schools  of  China  patterned  largely 
after  the  schools  of  Germany. 

A.  D.  1912 — Commission  appointed  to  devise  an  alphabet. 

A.  D.  1913 — Rebellion  of  Sun  Yat  Sen  and  Huang  Hsing. 

A.  D.  1913 — October  10.  Yuan  Shih  Kai  again  elected 
President  by  Parliament. 

A.  D.  1915 — January  18.  Japan’s  Twenty-one  Demands 
presented  to  China. 


APPENDIX  XIV  615 

A.  D.  1915 — April  26.  Japan’s  Revised  Demands  presented 
to  China. 

A.  D.  1915 — May  i.  China’s  reply  to  Japan’s  Revised 
Demands. 

A.  D.  1915 — May  7.  Japan’s  Ultimatum  to  China. 

A.  D.  1915 — May  8.  China’s  acceptance  of  Japan’s  Ulti- 
matum. 

A.  D.  1915 — September  and  October.  Agitation  in  China 
for  the  restoration  of  monarchy. 

A.  D.  1915 — October  15.  Yuan  Shih  Kai  issued  decree 
calling  for  vote  upon  restoration  of  monarchy. 

A.  D.  1915 — December  ii.  The  Council  of  State  elected 
Yuan  Shih  Kai  emperor  and  Yuan  Shih  Kai  announced 
that  he  would  accept  the  throne,  but  postponed  the 
coronation. 

A.  D.  1915 — December.  Uprisings  against  the  monarchy, 
especially  in  the  Yunnan,  Szechwan,  and  other  prov- 
inces. Reliable  reports  show  that  in  all  regions  south 
of  the  Yangtze  and  in  western  China  there  was  in 
the  closing  months  of  1915  deep,  sullen  discontent  over 
the  attempt  to  restore  the  monarchy.  In  response  to 
this  feeling  Yuan  Shih  Kai  postponed  indefinitely  his 
coronation. 

A.  D.  1916 — March  21.  Yuan  Shih  Kai  cancels  the  action 
of  the  Council  of  State  December  ii,  1915,  and  directs 
the  petitions  for  him  to  accept  the  emperorship  to  be 
returned  to  the  petitioners  for  destruction. 

A.  D.  1916 — March  23.  Yuan  Shih  Kai  issued  a mandate 
restoring  the  republic. 


INDEX 


Adultery,  death  penalty  for,  47 
Advisory  Provincial  Assemblies, 
meeting  of,  340 

Alabaster,  Ernst,  cited,  132;  quot- 
ed, 270,  279 

Alaska  Purchase,  referred  to,  441 
Alexander,  G.  G.,  cited,  185 
Altruism,  discussed,  188 
America,  position  of  with  respect 
to  China,  418 

American  ministers  to  China,  ef- 
forts of,  427 

Ancestors,  worship  of,  25 
Ancestral  rites,  importance  of,  25; 
penalty  for  neglect  of,  25;  origin 
of  not  discernible,  241 
Angell,  James  B.,  visitor  to  China, 
431 ; violation  of  treaty  secured 
by,  432 

Animism,  antiquity  of,  241 
Aristotle,  cited,  173;  quoted,  179; 
referred  to,  190 

Arthur,  President,  bill  vetoed  by, 
432 

Atlantic  Basin,  referred  to,  414 
Augustine,  quoted,  208 
Austria-Hungary,  population  of 
per  square  mile,  19 

Backhouse,  E.,  cited,  312 
Bacon,  quoted,  100;  cited,  115,  402 
Baldwin’s  Dictionary  of  Philos- 
ophy, cited,  175 

Baldwin,  James  Mark,  quoted,  216 
Ball,  J.  Dyer,  quoted,  50;  cited,  88 
Banks,  limited  in  membership  to 
family  or  clan,  67 
Barrett,  John,  quoted,  437 


Bartholomew,  J.  G.  quoted,  21 
Belgium,  population  of  per  square 
mile,  19 

Bible,  referred  to,  no 
“Bishops  of  Japan,  The,”  defini- 
tion of,  95 

Bland,  J.  O.  P.,  cited,  312 
Block  printing  invented  by 
Chinese,  no;  referred  to,  176; 
intellectual  life  quickened  by  in- 
vention of,  224. 

Board  of  Censors,  referred  to, 
298,  299 

Bolce,  Harold,  cited,  441 
Book  of  Rites,  cited,  97 
Books  for  reference:  Chapter  i, 
41;  chapter  ii,  71;  chapter  iv, 
122;  chapter  vi,  145;  chapter  vi, 
172;  chapter  vii,  193;  chapter  x, 
264;  chapter  xi,  289;  chapter 
xii,  311;  chapter  xiii,  330;  chap- 
ter xiv,  349 ; chapter  xv,  416 
Books  on  Taoism  and  Buddhism, 

239 

Boulger,  Demetrius,  quoted,  407, 
411 

Boxer  Uprising,  referred  to,  79; 
Prince  Tuan  leader  of,  324; 
crisis  of  the,  325 ; referred  to, 
330;  sanctioned  by  Manchu  au- 
thorities, 350 

Bretschneider  E.,  cited,  44,  Sn. 

519 

Brice,  Senator  Calvin  S.,  railway 
concession  given  to,  80;  referred 
to,  278 

Brinkley,  Captain  F.  cited,  382 
Brown,  Macmillan,  cited,  453,  454 
617 


6i8 


INDEX 


Buddhists,  doctrine  held  by,  179 
Buddhism,  verges  toward  quietism 
and  superstition,  177;  a divine 
preparation  for  the  gospel,  237; 
number  of  books  on,  239;  divis- 
ion of  into  two  schools,  245 ; 
when  brought  to  China,  345; 
political  power  of,  253;  sum- 
mary concerning,  258 
Bunsen,  Baron,  cited,  377 
Burbank,  Dr.,  cited,  53 
Burlingame,  Anson,  valuable  ser- 
vices of,  421  If. ; letter  of  to  Sec- 
retary Seward,  424;  death  of, 
425;  treaty  made  by,  440 
Burlingame  Treaty,  violation  of, 

431 

Burton,  Margaret  E.,  cited,  135, 

137 

Butler,  Joseph,  cited,  223 

Cairns,  Professor  D.  S.,  quoted, 
488 

Calvin,  John,  cited,  115 
Candolle,  Alphonse  L.  P.  de,  cited, 
75 

“Cash,”  value  of  the,  74 
Cashiers,  reliability  of,  70 
Censuses  of  China,  503 
Chair,  Sedan,  origin  of,  38 
Chalfant,  the  Rev.  Frank,  quoted, 

91 

Chang  Tao  Ling,  Pope  of  Taoism 
furnished  by  family  of,  244; 
deified,  244 

Ch’en  Chuang-cheng,  237 
Ch’eng  Hao,  229 
Chen  Hsiang,  229 
Ch’eng  Hsiang,  228 
China,  comparative  size  of,  18;  lo- 
cation of,  18;  provinces  of,  18; 
population  of,  19;  quality  of 
land  o.,  19;  topography  of,  19; 
shape  of,  20;  location  of  with 


reference  to  equator,  20;  crops 
of,  21 ; rainfall  in,  21 ; atmos- 
pheric conditions  of,  analyzed, 
21;  loess  formation  in,  21,  23; 
salubrity  of,  23 ; value  of  grain 
and  vegetable  diet  in,  27;  rela- 
tive cost  and  value  of  animal 
foods  in,  28;  intensive  cultiva- 
tion in,  35 ; substitution  of 
human  for  animal  labor  in,  38; 
large  variety  of  grains  and  veg- 
etables and  fruits  used  in,  39; 
cotton-growing  in,  46 ; afforesta- 
tion in,  53,  54;  distrust  among 
business  men  in,  67;  junk  traffic 
of,  78;  first  telegraph  line  in,  78; 
educational  life  in,  97;  school 
system  of,  100 ; early  poetry  of, 
149;  poor  roads  in,  162;  reli- 
gious literature  produced  by, 
24P;  religions  of,  240  {Buddhistic 
evangelization  of,  245;  political 
life  in,  29off. ; long  life  of  due 
to  three  principles,  292 ; often  in- 
volved in  life-and-death  strug- 
gle, 294 ; in  the  hands  of  an  alien 
race,  305 ; under  the  influence  of 
Confucius,  306;  weaknesses  of, 
discussed,  304ff. ; confronted  by 
two  serious  problems,  367 ; hope- 
ful fact  in  the  political  situation 
of,  377;  increase  in  population 
of,  447;  coal  and  iron  regions 
of,  448,  449;  growth  of  popula- 
tion of,  discussed,  456!?. 

Chinese,  physical  vitality  of,  46; 
industries  captured  by  them,  46; 
causes  of  reduction  of  vitality 
of,  47;  vices  of,  47;  footbinding 
confined  to  them,  47;  industry 
of,  48;  long  working  hours  of, 
48;  kindness  of  to  domestic 
animals,  49;  economy  of,  49: 
things  eaten  by,  50 ; intel- 


INDEX 


ligence  of,  52;  ponds  con- 
structed by,  57 : adaptability 

and  clieerfulness  of,  58;  con- 
tempt of  for  timid  excuses,  59; 
good  nature  of,  59;  loyalty  of  to 
employer,  59;  obedience  char- 
acteristic of,  61 ; immigration  of 
into  Russia  restricted,  6i ; power 
of  combination  of,  62;  eager- 
ness of  to  form  unions,  63 ; 
language  of,  discussed,  89;  com- 
mon sense  of,  161 ; national 
proverbs  of  the,  162;  belief  of 
concerning  human  sin,  236;  the 
awakening  of  the,  378;  pleased 
by  prohibition  of  opium  traffic, 
421 ; increase  of  in  the  north  and 
west,  451 ; increase  of,  in  Malay- 
sia, 452 

Chinese  Republic,  the,  35off.;  de- 
cision in  favor  of,  366;  return 
of  to  monarchical  form  of  gov- 
ernment, 370;  granted  a new 
lease  of  life  as  a republic,  371 ; 
the  largest  hope  of,  373 ; brief 
history  of  full  of  promise,  374 
Chang  Chih-tung,  decree  secured 
by,  1 12 

Chang  K’ien,  walnut  family 
brought  to  China  by,  530 
Chao  Meng-fu,  artist,  referred  to, 

157 

Charles,  Henry,  quoted,  135 
China  and  the  United  States,  418 
China  Medical  Commission,  re- 
ferred to,  428 

Chinese  Qassics,  The,  cited,  43,  44, 
98 ; edited  by  Confucius,  98 ; cut 
on  wooden  blocks,  no;  cited, 
in;  abuse  of  woman  made  pos- 
sible under,  133;  the  nine  com- 
piled in  Confucian  era,  149; 
cited,  175;  referred  to,  231,  232; 
teaching  of,  252;  referred  to. 


619 

268;  quoted  against  Shih 
Hwang-ti,  303 

Chinese  Doctrine  of  the  Mean,  re- 
ferred to,  161 ; written  by  K’ung 
Ch’i,  203 

Chinese  dynasties,  568 
Chinese  Imperial  Encyclopedia  of 
Philosophy,  175 

Chinese  law,  origin  of,  266;  pun- 
ishments prescribed  by,  266; 
early  codes  of,  266;  effort  to 
codify,  268;  codes  of,  discussed, 
269,  270;  character  of,  analyzed, 
271  ff. 

Chinese  Mediator,  The,  94 
Chinese  Moral  Maxims,  publica- 
tion of,  163 

Chinese  Philosophy,  three  limita- 
tions to,  174;  created  periods  of, 
176;  conclusions  concerning,  237 
Chi  Hwangti,  referred  to,  38 
Ching  Shu,  precedents  furnished 
by,  297 

Chow  dynasty,  cited,  99;  alluded 
to,  220 

Christianity,  superiority  of,  479 
Chuang  Tzu  facts  concerning,  190- 

193 

Chu  Hsi,  creator  of  epoch  in 
Chinese  philosophy,  230;  dis- 
cussed, 231-237 

Classes,  division  of  Chinese  into, 
43,  interpretation  of  by  Chu  Hsi, 
156;  false  exposition  of,  229 
Cleveland,  President,  referred  to, 
432 

Clemens,  Mrs.,  cited  as  authority 
in  plant  life,  511,  516,  529,  530 
Concubinage,  justified,  26;  openly 
practiced  in  China,  47 
Concubines,  purchase  of  girls  for, 
46 

Confucianism,  a new  interpreta- 
tion of,  155;  triumph  of,  176; 


620 


INDEX 


tends  toward  skepticism  and 
materialism,  177;  a divine  prep- 
aration for  the  gospel,  238;  effi- 
cient but  not  sufficient,  238 ; liter- 
ature on,  240;  consists  of  ethical 
teaching,  244;  regarded  as  a 
religious  system  by  its  followers, 
245 ; state  religion  of  China,  252 ; 
summary  of  discussion  concern- 
ing, 257 

Confucius,  referred  to,  43,  44; 
cited,  1 15;  quoted,  128;  cited, 
148,  149,  173  174;  philosophy  of, 
176;  interview  of  with  Lao  Tzu, 
181 ; sketch  of  life  of,  ipsff. ; 
method  of  teaching  of,  198;  re- 
buked by  Lao  Tzu,  199 ; descend- 
ants of,  213;  death  of,  203; 
quoted,  207;  conception  of  truth 
of,  not  lofty,  21 1 ; his  lack  of 
humanitarianism,  212;  must  not 
be  judged  in  light  of  our  day, 
213;  a practical  idealist,  215;  the 
greatest  conservative  produced 
by  the  human  race,  218;  publish- 
er of  theistic  views  of  early 
writers,  233;  unvarying  system 
of  laws  held  by,  234;  worship  of, 
245;  moral  system  of,  302 
Conger,  Mr.  and  Mrs.,  preference 
shown  for  by  Prince  Chun,  334 
Coolie  trade,  referred  to,  420 
Commerce,  foreign,  discussed,  75 
Companies  for  industrial  enter- 
prises, difficulty  in  forming,  62 
Complete  Philosophy,  referred  to, 

175 

Constitution,  drafted  by  National 
Assembly,  367 

Constitutional  Commission,  for- 
mation of,  369 

Corruption,  advanced  stage  of,  in 
nation,  221 

Course  of  Study  in  China,  533^- 


Crime,  tendency  to  suppress,  re- 
garding, 282 

Curtis,  William  E.,  cited,  451 

Davis,  Sir  J.  F.,  referred  to,  163 
Davis,  Maria  Brown,  work  of 
cited,  138 

Darwin,  Charles,  cited,  115 
DeCandolle,  botanical  authority, 
cited,  5 1 1.  528 

Defaulter,  entire  family  respon- 
sible for  peculations  of,  70 
Denominationalism,  dangerous  to 
Christendom,  475 
Dictionary  of  Chinese  characters. 
Compilation  of,  150 
Diodotus,  kingdom  founded  by, 
179- 

Divine  Providence,  operation  of, 
in  Chinese  history,  237 
Divorce,  ground  for,  26;  allowed 
husband  for  seven  causes,  129; 
allowed  wife  for  only  one  cause, 
129 

Doolittle,  J.,  referred  to,  163 
Douglas,  R.  K.,  cited,  43 
Dualism,  discussed,  178 
Drunkenness,  denounced  as  trea- 
son, 299 

Ebara,  the  Hon.  S.,  Japanese 
statesman,  quoted,  69 
Edinburgh  Review,  quoted,  284 
Education,  advantages  inhering  in 
Chinese  system  of,  97;  uniform 
curriculum  in,  98;  democratic 
character  of  system  of,  99; 
practical  character  of,  100-104; 
danger  inhering  in  Chinese  sys- 
tem of,  103 ; corruption  in  sys- 
tem of,  104,  105 ; inherent  con- 
servatism in  system  of,  105-108; 
future  of,  discussed,  109-122 
Eitel,  E.  J.,  cited,  245 
Elgin,  Lord,  referred  to,  419 


INDEX 


621 


Elijah,  referred  to,  223 
Eliot,  Ex-President,  visitor  to 
China,  428 

Emerson,  Ralph  Waldo,  cited,  184 
Emperor  Wu,  referred  to,  513, 

517.  530 

Emperor  Yao,  advice  given  by,  538, 
Emperor  of  China,  religious  and 
political  head  of  nation,  250; 
titles  assumed  by,  25 
Encyclopaedia  Britannica,  cited,  42, 
43.  71.  74.  75,  76.  150,  151.  154. 

159,  173.  178,  179,  182,  187,  193. 

196,  210,  223,  241,  246,  258,  324, 

336,  340,  406,  447,  452,  51 1.  530, 

598 

Epictetus,  cited,  208 
Epicureanism,  discussed,  i85flF. 
European  War,  Japanese  aggres- 
sion on  China  made  possible  by, 

391 

Exchange,  discussed,  88 
Exclusion  Act,  referred  to,  419 
Exclusion  policy,  extent  of,  446 
Exorcists,  early  appearance  of,  242 

Faber,  Dr.  Ernst,  quoted,  73,  74, 
254;  cited,  s8,  77.  132,  248,  255, 
314,  132,  410,  41 1 

Family,  the,  the  unit  of  Chinese 
society,  305 
Famine,  relief  in,  429 
Far  East,  problem  of  to  solve,  17 ; 
events  in,  18;  vegetables  culti- 
vated in,  75 

Farmers,  upheaval  among,  224; 

work  of,  discussed,  29 
Farming,  described,  30 
Feast  days,  diet  on,  28 
Feng  Shan,  Tartar  general  of 
Canton,  assassination  of,  359 
Ferguson,  Dr.  J.  C.,  cited,  iii 
Fields,  small  size  of,  32 
Fish,  Hamilton,  action  by,  430 


Five  virtues,  the,  235 
Forbes  and  Helmsley’s  Plants  of 
China,  cited,  51 1 

Foreign  trade,  earliest  record  of, 
74 

Foot-binding,  described,  130 
Food,  list  of  species  of  plants, 
vegetables,  roots,  berries,  fruit, 
etc.,  used  for,  510 
Foster,  John  W.,  quoted,  418,  419, 
422 

France,  population  of,  per  square 
mile,  19 

Frazer,  Lovat,  quoted,  18 
Franklin,  Benjamin,  cited,  115 
Free  schools,  introduced  into 
China  by  American  mission- 
aries, 426 

Fu  Chi,  Tartar  general  of  Canton, 
murder  of,  347 

Froude,  James  Anthony,  quoted, 
486 

Gabelenz,  G.  von  der.  Professor, 
quoted,  185 

Galileo,  forced  to  recant,  107; 
cited,  1 15 

Gamewell.  Dr.  F.  D.,  cited,  518 
Gamewell,  Mary  Porter,  work  of 
cited,  138 

Gary  plan  of  education,  117 
Genghis  Kahn,  referred  to,  75,  76, 

156,  304 

George,  Henry,  referred  to,  222 
Germany,  population  of  per  square 
mile,  19 ; farms  in,  53 ; demands 
made  upon  Japan  by,  381 
Gilds  in  China,  66 
Giles,  Herbert  A.,  quoted,  97 ; 
cited,  147,  152;  quoted,  159,  160, 
173 ; cited,  229 ; quoted,  241 ; 
cited,  314 

Gladstone,  William,  cited,  115 
Golden  Rule  of  Christ,  263 


622 


INDEX 


Goodnow,  Dr.  Frank  J.,  services 
rendered  by,  369 
Goto,  Baron,  visit  of,  to  Russia, 
390 

Government,  Chinese,  theoretically 
a despotism,  291 

Grant,  Ex-President,  visitor  to 
China,  428;  cited,  430 
Great  Britain,  demands  made  upon 
China  by,  382 

Great  Famine  in  Shensi,  429 
Great  Wall,  cited,  31,  45;  built  as 
a defense  against  Mongolian 
horsemen,  303 
Greeks,  qualities  of,  414 
Griffis,  Rev.  William  Elliot,  quot- 
ed, 385,  388 

Groot,  J.  J.  M.  de,  quoted,  25,  26, 
179,  cited,  239;  quoted,  240  242, 
248;  information  in  books  of, 
250 ; quoted,  252,  253,  254 ; cited, 
263 

Grosvenor,  Edwin  A.,  cited,  446 
Guillemard,  Dr.  Francis  H.  H., 
quoted,  455 

Gulick,  Dr.  Sydney  L.,  referred  to, 
433,  434 

Haeckel,  referred  to,  233 
Hamilton,  Alexander,  cited,  115 
Hanlin  Academy,  referred  to,  iii, 
229 

Han  dynasty,  referred  to,  150 
Han,  Emperor  Chang,  enthrone- 
ment of,  244 

Han  Yu,  referred  to,  153 
Harriman,  E.  H.,  agreement  made 
with,  390 

Hart,  Sir  Robert,  valuable  services 
of,  80;  referred  to,  424,  480 
Hawaii,  object  of  United  States  in 
securing,  442 

Hawks-Potts,  F.  L.,  quoted,  254 
Hay,  Secretary,  quoted,  17;  re- 
ferred to,  429,  441 


Hayes,  President,  quoted,  430,  431 
Headland,  Isaac  T.,  cited,  135 ; re- 
ferred to,  138 
Hegel,  cited,  184 
Hien  Feng,  flight  of  from  Peking, 

314 

Hirth,  Friedrich,  quoted,  99 
Holland,  population  of  per  square 
mile,  19 

Holy  Men,  appearance  of  account- 
ed for,  236 

Hopkins,  C.  G.  quoted,  27;  cited, 
28,  29 

Hopkins,  Dr.  N.  S.,  referred  to,  50 
Horse,  the,  not  a common  animal 
in  China,  38 

Hosie,  Sir  Alexander,  cited,  36, 

384 

Hsia  and  Shang  dynasties,  activi- 
ties in,  73 

Hsiao  Ho,  law  code  drawn  up  by, 
268 

Huang  Hsing,  revolution  led  by, 
354;  collapse  of  revolution  and 
escape  from  China  of,  369 
Hue,  L’Abbe  E.  R.,  referred  to, 
132;  quoted,  246 

Huntington,  Ellsworth,  quoted,  23 
Hwai  River  Conservancy,  referred 
to,  54 

I Ching,  transcendental  philosophy 
of,  173;  meaning  of,  178 
Imperial  Library,  the  volumes  in, 

175 

Imperial  Palace,  looting  of,  334 
Inaccuracy  as  a national  charac- 
teristic, discussed,  88-91 
Income  tax,  levied  by  government, 
226 

Indians,  referred  to,  434 
Individualism,  Hedonistic,  dis- 
cussed, 185 

Industries,  enumerated,  44,  45 


INDEX 


Infant  baptism,  practiced  by  the 
lamas,  247 

Ing,  Mrs.,  quoted,  137 
Intermarriage,  between  Chinese 
and  other  races,  results  of,  406 
Iron  mines,  when  opened,  44 
Irrigation,  methods  of,  30;  dis- 
cussed, 508,  509 
Isaiah,  cited,  115 

Italy,  population  of,  per  square 
mile,  19 

Jackson,  Sir  Thomas,  cited,  436 
Japan,  population  of  per  square 
mile,  19;  business  interests  of 
in  hands  of  government,  69; 
governmental  finance  of  not  as- 
sured, 69;  governmental  effi- 
ciency of  over  China,  309; 
twenty-one  demands  of  upon 
China,  remarks  upon,  379;  war 
with  China  precipitated  by,  380; 
victory  of  over  Russia,  382 ; po- 
litical parties  in,  389;  views  of 
War  Party  in,  392;  overlordship 
of  China  by,  400-403;  obligation 
of  to  maintain  open  door  in 
Manchuria,  404;  destiny  con- 
fronting, 413;  trade  of,  436 
Japan’s  original  demands  on 
China,  543-547 ; revised  de- 
mands, 548-554 ; China’s  reply 
to  revised  demands,  555-559 
Japan’s  ultimatum  to  China,  560- 
565 ; China’s  acceptance  of,  566, 

567 

Jefferson,  Thomas,  cited,  115 
Jeremiah,  cited,  115 
Jernigan,  T.  R,,  cited,  64 
Jesuits,  the,  referred  to.  III. 

Jung  Lu,  313;  loyalty  of,  to  em- 
press dowager,  320;  execution 
of,  ordered,  320;  execution  of, 
not  accomplished,  321 ; further 


623 

activity  of,  322!!, ; banishment  of, 
from  capital,  326;  death  of,  326 

Kang-hsi,  political  leader,  157 
K’ang  Yu  Wei,  237 
Kant,  cited,  233 
Kidd,  Benjamin,  cited,  438 
K’ien-lung,  political  leader,  157 
King,  Professor  F.  H.,  quoted,  31, 
395 ; cited,  33,  36,  37,  58,  399 
Kipling,  Rudyard,  quoted,  17 
Klemens  von  Ketteler,  Baron, 
case  of,  331 
Knox,  John,  cited,  115 
Knox,  Secretary,  action  of,  in  con- 
junction with  President  Taft, 

364 

Komura,  Baron,  assassination  of, 
385;  program  of,  discussed,  387 
Korea,  occupancy  of,  by  Japan,  383 
Koreans,  genius  of,  for  religion, 

414 

Kranz,  Paul,  cited,  248,  255 
Kublai  Khan,  referred  to,  156,  304 
Kuomintang  party,  expulsion  of, 
from  Parliament,  369 
Kwang-su,  decrees  issued  by,  319; 
death  of,  329 

Laborers,  Chinese,  coming  of,  to 
United  States  limited,  420 
Lacouperie,  Terrien  de,  cited,  74 
Lady  Tsao,  quoted,  136 
Langdon,  cited,  77 
Lanier,  Sidney,  quoted,  467 
Lao-Tzu,  cited,  149,  173,  174.  181, 
182,  183;  quoted,  185;  birth  of, 
243 ; mysterious  disappearance 
of,  243;  philosophy  of,  trans- 
formed into  Taoism,  244 
Lavelaye,  French  writer,  quoted, 
443 

Legge,  Professor  James,  quoted. 


INDEX 


624 

97;  cited,  134;  quoted,  148,  180, 
242,  250 

Liang  Chih-chiao,  great  services 
of,  to  the  revolution,  352;  place 
in  cabinet  declined  by,  352 
Life,  political,  in  China,  discussed, 
290ff. 

Lincoln,  Abraham,  cited,  115,  421 
Ling  Ti,  acts  of,  99,  100 
Li  O,  poet,  157 

Literature,  life  reflected  in,  146; 
discussed,  I47ff. ; quantity  of, 
147 ; period  of  disruption  in, 
151 ; culmination  of  history  of, 

156. 

Little,  Archibald,  quoted,  447,  448 
Li  Hung-chang,  salary  of,  cited, 
305 ; one  of  China’s  greatest 
statesmen,  418 
Li  T’iao-yiian,  poet,  157 
Little,  Archibald,  quoted,  19;  cited, 
55 

Li  Tsung,  referred  to,  230 
Li  Yuan,  Hung,  forced  to  head 
revolution,  358 

Lloyd,  Dr.,  of  Japan,  cited,  246, 
248,  263 

Local  government,  nationalized, 
227 

Lodge,  Senator,  referred  to,  433 
London  Times,  quoted,  cited,  57, 
329,  337 

Lowry,  Rev.  H.  H.,  cited,  5i9 
Luther,  Martin,  cited,  115 

MacGowan,  John,  quoted,  255 
Mackay,  author,  cited,  529 
McCormick,  Frederick  K.,  cited, 
386,  389;  quoted,  418 
Manchuria,  area  of,  384 
Manchu  dynasty,  rise  of,  304;  fall 
of,  3i2lf. ; rebellions  against, 
cited,  410 

Manchu  Period,  157 


Manchurian  Railway,  division  of, 
390 

Man,  good  in  his  essential  nature, 
236 

Manual  of  Filial  Piety,  The, 
quoted,  134 

Marcus  Aurelius,  referred  to,  208 
Marco  Polo,  cited,  64 
Marriage,  early,  and  desire  for 
sons,  24;  future  felicity  depend- 
ent upon,  25;  discussed,  123-127; 
Marshall,  Alfred,  quoted,  486 
Martin,  Dr.  W.  A.  P.,  cited,  iii, 
419;  quoted,  136 
Ma-ssu,  writer,  157 
Mateer,  Mrs.  Calvin,  quoted,  137 
Maxey,  Edward,  cited,  436 
Maya,  doctrine  of  perpetual  vir- 
ginity of,  247 

Meadows,  T.  T.,  cited,  49,  123,  127, 
133:  quoted,  175;  views  of,  rela- 
tive to  philosophy  of  Chu  Hsi, 
236;  237;  cited,  292,  293,  296 
Medhurst,  W.  H.,  quoted,  271,  272 
Mencius,  quoted,  25 ; cited,  125, 
149.  173 ; quoted,  197 ; most  bril- 
liant exponent  of  Confucius, 
220;  first  a Taoist,  220;  mother 
of,  220;  favorite  motto  of,  221; 
reliance  of  upon  popular  will, 
221 ; first  to  formulate  the  prin- 
ciple of  revolution,  222 ; universal 
education  advocated  by,  222 ; 
quoted,  223 ; kings  rebuked  by, 
223;  quoted,  224;  system  of  laws 
held  by,  234;  heretics  attacked 
by,  253;  quoted,  486;  mother  of, 
story  concerning,  534 
Mendoza,  cited,  274 
Meyer,  Frederick,  cited,  526 
Military  service,  nationalized,  226 
Militarism,  doomed  under  a divine 
providence,  310 
Millard,  T.  F.,  cited,  356 


INDEX 


Ming  dynasty,  cited,  239 
Ming  Shih,  the  Buddhist  Messiah, 

253 

Ming  Period,  a continuation  of 
Sung  Period,  157 
Ministers,  American,  to  China, 
enumerated,  427 

Mirror  of  History,  condensed  by 
Chu  Hsi,  156;  the  Chinese  text- 
book of  history,  231 
Missions,  Protestant  and  Roman 
Catholic,  1 13 

Missionary  Conference  in  Shang- 
hai, 249 

Missionaries,  early  Protestant, 
enumerated,  138 

Missionaries,  Protestant,  work  of, 
III 

Mississippi  River,  levees  along  the, 
56 

Mohammedanism,  introduction  of 
into  China,  75 ; an  example  of 
reform  miscarrying,  116 
Mohammedan  Rebellion,  failure 
of,  407 

Monarchy,  question  of  restoration 
of,  370 

Mongol,  or  Yuen  dynasty,  rise  and 
fall  of,  304 
Mongol  Period,  156 
Monism,  discussed,  181 
Monroe  Doctrine,  referred  to,  440 
Monotheism,  contemporaneous 
with  worship  of  ancestors,  241 
Morrison,  Robert,  referred  to,  77 
Moscow,  burning  of,  412 
Moses,  cited,  115;  referred  to,  223 
Mo-ti,  cited,  149,  174;  Christian 
doctrine  of  love  anticipated  by, 
176;  cited,  186;  methodology  of, 
188;  China’s  most  progressive 
philosopher,  190;  socialism  in 
law  of  love  of,  234;  doctrine  of 
compared  with  Confucianism,  237 


625 

Mukden,  appearance  of  pneumonic 
plague  in,  337 
Mulloney,  J.  J.,  cited,  353 
Music,  modern  Chinese,  origin  of, 
179 

Mysticism,  discussed,  181. 

Napoleon,  referred  to,  41 1 
Nation,  divided  into  groups,  226 
National  Assembly,  meeting  of, 

341 

National  Conference  of  Education, 
first,  158 

National  stage,  the,  471 
Neal,  Dr.  J.  B.,  referred  to,  48 
Neo-Conformists,  activities  of,  237 
Nestorian  Christianity,  referred 

to,  407 

Nestorian  missionaries,  welcomed 
into  China,  151 
Newton,  Sir  Isaac,  cited,  115 
Nurhachu,  political  leader,  157 

Okuma,  Count,  demands  formu- 
lated by,  393;  vote  on  impeach- 
ment of,  394 
Old,  W.  G.,  quoted,  183 
Oldham,  Dr.  W.  F.,  cited,  453,  455 
Opium,  first  edict  issued  against 
sale  of,  336;  trade  in,  discussed, 
418,  4i9ff. 

“Opium  War”  with  Great  Brit- 
ain, 336 

Origin  of  universe,  explanation  of, 

233 

Outline  of  Chinese  history,  569- 
619 

Pacific  Basin,  referred  to,  62,  77; 
civilization  of,  159;  referred  to, 
429.  437,  443 

Paganism,  cause  of  distrust,  68 
Panama  Canal,  opening  of,  79; 


626 


INDEX 


channel  of  trade  changed  by, 
437 

Paper,  invention  of,  150 
Paper  money,  introduction  of, 
into  China,  76 
Parents,  worship  of,  25 
Parker,  E.  H.,  cited,  268,  41 1 
Pastor  Yen,  cited,  249 
Paul,  cited,  115 

Peace  League,  effort  to  establish, 
302 

Pearson,  C.  H.  cited,  447,  451,  455, 
456 

Peking,  capture  of,  by  British,  314; 
appearance  of  pneumonic  plague 
in,  337 

Penal  Code,  revision  of,  151 
Perny,  P.,  referred  to,  163 
Phidias,  cited,  417 
Philosophy,  life  reflected  in,  173; 
various  types  of,  176;  dualistic 
side  of,  180;  found  chiefly  in  the 
Nine  Classics,  204 
Plato,  cited,  115,  173,  190,  417. 
Platt,  Senator,  action  of,  433 
Pneumonic  plague,  breaking  out 
of,  337 

Polos,  visits  of  the,  155 
Polytheism,  referred  to,  242,  477; 
supplanted  by  Mohammedism, 
478 

Population  of  China,  physical 
causes  of,  18;  density  of,  19; 
natural  causes  of,  23 
Port  Arthur,  strategic  value  of, 
381 ; secured  by  Japan,  383 
Portuguese,  Philippines  taken  pos- 
session of  by,  77 

President  of  China,  term  of,  ex- 
tended to  ten  years,  370 
Presidents,  American,  named  as 
friends  to  China,  427 
Priests,  male  and  female,  243 
Prince  Chun,  regency  of,  331 ; ex- 


perience of  with  emperor  of 
Germany,  331 ; a word  of  appre- 
ciation concerning,  331-337 ; 
opium  reform  pushed  by,  336; 
Plague  Conference  called  by, 
337;  slavery  abolished  by,  338; 
efforts  of  to  advance  represen- 
tative government,  341 ; imperial 
decree  of  against  slavery,  341 ; 
reign  of  embarrassed  by  two 
grave  problems,  343;  wrong 
course  taken  by,  344;  imperial 
body  guard  reviewed  by,  359; 
demands  of  National  Assembly 
yielded  to  by,  360;  famous  De- 
cree of  Penitence  issued  by, 
360;  regency  of  announced,  362 
Prince  Ito,  referred  to,  389 
Printing,  invention  of,  151 
Proverbs,  definition  of,  164;  list 
of,  165-172 

Public  sentiment,  in  China,  potency 
of,  371 

Pythagoras,  view  held  by,  179 

Queen  Victoria,  favor  of  won  by 
Mr.  Burlingame,  425 
Queue,  plan  to  cut  off,  346 

Railways,  nationalization  of  pro- 
claimed, 347 

Red  Girdle  Clan,  referred  to,  317, 

325 

Reed,  Mr.,  cited,  419;  formal  dec- 
laration by,  420 

Reform  Bill,  opposed  by  conserva- 
tives, 107 

Reforms,  leaders  in,  112 
Reforms,  socialistic,  155 
Reinsch,  Paul  S.,  quoted,  18 
Reliability,  discussed,  93,  94 
Relief  of  the  situation  in  China, 
measures  suggested  for  the, 
481  ff. 

Remusat,  quoted,  148 


INDEX 


Revolution,  formal  inauguration 
of.  359 

Rice,  care  of,  36 

Richard,  Dr,  Timothy,  cited,  iii, 
246,  247,  248,  263,  406 
Richthofen,  Baron  Ferdinand, 
quoted,  448 ; cited,  449 
Rockhill,  Minister,  referred  to, 
429 

Roman  Catholic  Sisters,  orphan- 
age started  by,  137 
Roman  Catholic  rites,  resemblance 
of  Buddhism  to  Mahayana, 
246 

Roosevelt,  President,  acquiescence 
of  in  Japan’s  purpose,  384 
Root-Takahira  Agreement,  re- 
ferred to,  404;  stated  in  full,  542 
Ross,  Dr,  John,  cited,  241 
Ross,  E.  A,,  cited,  32,  141 ; theory 
of,  251 

Russell,  Lord  John,  quoted,  164 
Russia,  action  of  toward  Japan, 
381 

Sacred  Book  of  the  East,  referred 
to,  148 

Sage,  the,  quoted,  184 
Sage,  wisdom  of,  109 
Sakymuni,  call  of,  208 
Scarborough,  William,  referred  to, 
220ff, 

Scott  Act,  referred  to,  432 
School,  the  Confucian  discussed, 
220ff, 

Schools,  Roman  Catholic,  iii 
Seeley,  Professor,  cited,  472;  re- 
ferred to,  475 
Seine,  overflow  of,  57 
Self-preservation  not  the  first  law 
of  nature,  464 

Seoul,  government  hospital  in,  414 
Sectarianism,  proscribed  by  gov- 
ernment, 254 


627 

Sen  Ki-yu,  tril)ute  of,  to  George 
Washington,  422;  career  of 
noted,  423 

Seward,  Hon.  William  H.,  visit 
of  to  China,  420;  referred  to, 
423 ; treaty  drawn  up  by,  425 
Shang  dynasty,  the,  cited,  97,  98 
Shakespeare,  cited,  115 
Sheng  Kung-pao,  loan  negotiated 
by,  346 

Shennung,  mythological  emperor, 
referred  to,  43 

Shen  Tung,  emperor,  referred  to, 
225 

Shierbrand,  VV’olf  Von,  quoted, 

451 

Shih  Hwang-ti,  referred  to,  45 ; 
conveniences  in  time  of,  45 ; law 
code  of,  268;  the  Napoleon  of 
China,  title  of  Emperor  the  First 
assumed  by,  303 

Shintoism,  survival  of  in  Japan, 
478 

Shun  Chih,  political  leader,  157 
Sibert,  Colonel,  referred  to,  57 
Silver  Rule,  of  Confucius,  263 
Simcox,  Miss  E.  J„  cited,  505 
Slavery,  when  introduced  into 
China,  46 

Slavery,  in  China,  origin  of,  127 
Slaves,  not  in  earliest  recorded 
history,  45 

Smith’s  Chinese  materia  medica, 
cited,  SI  I 

Smith,  Dr.  Arthur  H.,  cited,  50; 
quoted,  88,  144;  referred  to,  163, 
164. 

Smith,  Mrs.  Arthur  H.,  quoted, 

137 

Society,  classes  of,  43,  532 
Socialism,  186 

Socialism,  inaugurated  in  China 
government,  228;  referred  to, 
230 


628 


INDEX 


Socrates,  cited,  IIS,  173,  190,  217, 

417 

Soil,  methods  of  preserving  and 
fertilizing  the,  32 
Son  of  Heaven,  signification  of 
term,  225 

Soothill,  W.  E.  cited,  244 
Spencer,  Herbert,  cited,  417 
Spirits,  belief  of  Chinese  concern- 
ing, 242 

Spring  and  Autumn  Annals,  com- 
pilation of,  21 1 

Ssu-ma  Kuang,  recommended  to 
emperor,  229 

Ssu-ma  Ch’ien,  first  great  histor- 
ian, noted,  150 

Stage  of  sensual  gratification,  469; 
of  selfish  ambition,  470;  of  uni- 
versal service,  474 
Staunton,  Sir  George,  cited,  275 
Stead,  William  T.,  cited,  377 
Stereotyping,  referred  to,  157 
Stoessel,  General,  referred  to, 
354 

Straight,  W.  D.,  cited,  384 
Strike,  development  of  into  a 
revolution,  358 

Struggles,  religious,  in  China,  249 
Stuart,  George  A.,  cited,  44,  51 1, 

524 

Suez  Canal,  opening  of,  referred 
to,  78 

Sung  dynasty,  productive  in  litera- 
ture, 154 

Sun  Yat  Sen,  cited,  237;  activity 
of  in  promoting  republic,  35off. ; 
presidency  of  republic  accepted 
and  resigned  by,  351 ; Tung  Men 
Hui  organized  by,  354;  referred 
to,  362;  collapse  of  rebellion 
headed  by,  369;  referred  to,  392 
Superstition,  Chinese,  discussed, 
178 

Swettenham,  Sir  Frank,  cited,  61 


Svkfltzerland,  population  of  per 
square  mile,  19 

Taft,  President  William,  agree- 
ment secured  by,  364 
Taiping  rebellion,  the,  a religio- 
political  war,  256;  length  of,  41 1 
Tang  dynasty,  the,  a great  period 
in  Chinese  literature,  151 
Trans-Siberian  Railway,  Russia's 
purpose  in  building,  61 ; pur- 
poses for  which  built,  451 
Treaty  of  Tiensin,  cited,  425 
Triumph  of  nationalism  over 
feudalism,  302 

Tung  Chi,  committed  to  care  of 
enemies,  314 
Tu  Fu,  referred  to,  153 
Tungting  and  Poyang  Lakes,  re- 
ferred to,  58; 

Tzu  An,  empress  dowager,  death 
of,  317 

Tzu  Hsi,  empress  dowager,  re- 
ferred to  as  a political  leader, 
157;  romantic  career  of,  312; 
sketch  of  life  of,  3i2ff. ; arrest 
of,  ordered  but  not  effected,  321, 
322;  death  of,  329;  struggle  of, 
for  the  Red  Girdle  Clan,  348 
T’ang  dynasty,  referred  to,  130 
Tang  Shao-yi,  services  of  to  revo- 
lution, 355 ; made  premier,  357 ; 
Tao  Teh  Ching,  the,  181 
Taoism  and  its  schools,  173;  out- 
growth of  the  early  transcen- 
dental philosophy,  177 ; a divine 
preparation  for  the  gospel,  238; 
looks  on,  239 ; a law  form  of  re- 
ligion, 244;  four  points  relative 
to,  258 

Taxes,  illegal,  abolished,  224 
Tea,  used  as  a drink  by  Confucius, 
43;  first  sent  from  China  to 
England,  77 


INDEX 


629 


Tenny,  Dr.  C.  D.,  cited,  iii 
Text  books  of  China,  enumerated, 
533 

Thames  River,  rise  in,  57 
Three  Character  Classics,  156 
Transcendentalism,  discussed,  178, 
181 

Transportation,  discussed,  81-86 
Transport  Wagons,  first  registra- 
tion of,  75 

University  of  Nanking,  referred 
to,  53 

University  of  Tokyo,  religious 
conditions  in,  121 ; not  surpassed 
in  teaching  the  applied  sciences, 

413 

United  Kingdom,  population  of 
per  square  mile,  19 
United  States,  relations  of,  with 
China  strengthened,  421 ; sinful- 
ness of  exclusive  policy  of,  435 
Uprising,  Mohammedan,  255 
Utilitarianism,  discussed,  186 

Vegetable  oils,  507 
Viceroy  Chao  Er-hsun,  referred 
to,  361 

Wallace,  Alfred  Russel,  quoted, 
452,  453 

Wang  An-shih,  discussed,  224- 
228;  reforms  of  opposed,  229; 
efforts  to  overthrow,  229;  belief 
of,  in  a personal  God,  234;  his- 
torical defeat  of,  reforms  of, 

237 

Wang  Futchi,  writer,  157 
Wang  Hsi  Chih,  great  calligraph- 
ist,  noted,  151 
Wang-hui,  painter,  157 
Washington,  George,  tribute  to, 
422 

Weale,  B.  Putnam,  quoted,  18, 353, 
379 


Wei  Hsi,  philosopher,  157 
Wen  Tsung,  emperor,  253 
Wen  Wang,  odes  collected  by,  539 
Werner,  E.  T.  C.,  quoted,  21, 
cited,  43,  44;  quoted,  45;  cited, 
46,  64,  73;  quoted,  74;  cited,  76, 
97,  98,  no,  123,  125,  126,  130, 
152;  quoted,  193;  cited,  224,  245, 
250;  quoted,  253;  cited,  255,  266, 
274,  299,  data  gathered  by,  505 
Wesley,  John,  cited,  115 
Western  learning,  impetus  given 
to.  III 

West  River  basin,  referred  to,  20 
Wheat,  growth  in  height  of,  37 
White  Deer  Grotto  University, 
referred  to,  231 

White  Lily  Society,  the,  composi- 
tion of,  254;  rebellion  of,  sub- 
dued, 255 

William  II,  emperor  of  Germany, 
action  of,  332 

Williams,  S.  Wells,  quoted,  23,  97, 
284;  cited,  247,  296,  407 
Wilson,  E.  H.,  cited  as  botanical 
authority,  51 1,  524 
Woman’s  life  in  China,  123 
Women,  position  of  shown  by  sys- 
tem of  merits,  130;  ameliorating 
conditions  of,  132;  education  of, 
135;  outlook  for,  140 
Woosung-Shanghai  Railway,  built 
and  torn  up,  78 

Workmen,  American,  cry  of  dis- 
tress raised  by,  431 
World  War,  most  ominous  event 
in  modern  history,  17;  referred 
to,  18,  491 

Wu  Chih-i,  and  Ch’en  Huang- 
chung,  poet,  157 
Wu  rites,  the,  243 
Wu  Tse-hseng,  referred  to,  353 
Wu  Wang,  founder  of  Chou  dy- 
nasty, referred  to,  99 


INDEX 


630 

Wylie,  Alexander,  cited,  147,  148, 

239 

Yangtze  River,  referred  to,  20 
Yangtze  basin,  how  formed,  20; 

area  of,  20 
Yang  Chu,  cited  165 
Yen  Hui,  favorite  disciple  of  Con- 
fucius, 206 

Yellow  Girdle  Clan,  referred  to, 

317,  325.  327.  329,  330,  348 

Yellow  races,  exclusion  of,  from 
five  of  the  six  continents,  446 
Yellow  River,  delta  of,  20;  depos- 
its of,  22;  report  of  Commission 
on,  54;  compared  with  Missis- 
sippi River,  55 
Yuan  Chi,  poet,  work  of,  151 
Yuan  dynasty,  253 
Yu,  the  Great,  quoted,  253 
Yu,  region  drained  by,  57 
Yuan  Shih  Kai,  old  system  of  ex- 
aminations abolished  by,  112 
Yuan  Shih  Kai,  cited,  308;  rapid 
rise  of  in  political  favor,  319; 


support  of  requested  by  em- 
peror, 320;  relation  of  to 
Chinese  government  elucidated, 
32iff. ; referred  to,  331,  335;  re- 
tired by  Prince  Chun,  344;  re- 
ferred to,  345,  351,  355,  356, 
357 ; recalled  by  imperial  decree, 
359;  declaration  in  favor  of 
peace  issued  by,  360;  entrance 
of  into  Peking,  361 ; referred 
to,  362,  363,  365;  inauguration 
of  as  President  of  United 
Chinese  Republic,  366;  referred 
to,  368 ; Parliament  dissolved 
by,  369 ; chosen  as  emperor, 
370;  postponement  of  corona- 
tion of,  371 ; efforts  of  to  estab- 
lish civil  service  reform,  375; 
government  simplified  and  cen- 
tralized by,  375;  resentment  of 
young  China  against,  409 

Yun  Shou-p’ing,  painter,  157 

Zeno,  referred  to,  223 

Zwingli,  cited,  115 


I 


